Immigration Law
Asylum and Immigration Tribunal
Immigration
The purpose of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal is to hear and decide appeals against decisions made by the UK Border Agency and officers in diplomatic posts abroad who can issue visas. They hear cases on asylum, immigration, and nationality.
One or more immigration judges may hear an appeal. They are sometimes accompanied by non-legal members of the tribunal. Immigration judges and non-legal members are appointed by the Lord Chancellor and they are independent of the government.
Appeals are heard in a number of centres around the United Kingdom.
If we make an appeal on your behalf, you will usually attend the hearing with your legal representative from Nationwide Solicitors. The UK Border Agency will also have a legal representative at the hearing.
The immigration judge, or panel, will decide whether your appeal against our decision is successful or not (this is known as the decision being 'allowed or dismissed'). The tribunal's decision will be given to you in writing. It is called a determination.
In certain circumstances you may be able to apply to have the tribunal's decision reconsidered. The UK Border Agency may also be able to ask to have it reconsidered. There are different ways of making an application for reconsideration, depending on whether your appeal was heard by a single judge or a panel.
Judicial Review
AIT
The High Court has a supervisory jurisdiction over public authorities, including the AIT, to ensure that they do not exceed the powers granted to them by Parliament, and judicial review is the procedure used to access that jurisdiction. Judicial review is therefore a challenge to the legality of the decision and it has played an important role in relation to the AIT, where the quality of decision-making can be very variable. A successful judicial review will send the case back to the place it was in the system when the mistake was made. It would be unusual for judicial review to result in the status the applicant wants being granted.
Recent legislation has restricted the scope of judicial review in immigration and asylum cases and has replaced it with statutory review. Any asylum appeal decision promulgated by an adjudicator after June 9th 2003 which then goes on to have leave to appeal to the tribunal refused can only be appealed by statutory review. Those promulgated prior to that date can still be judicially reviewed. The Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) Act 2004 will restrict the availability of judicial review still further where there has been an appeal to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal.
Our immigration solicitors routinely assist clients in submitting applications to the UK Border Agency. As such we pride ourselves on being able to offer clients expert legal advice and representation in the full spectrum of immigration law, from the most basic visa applications, to “test” appeals and cases in the higher courts
If you would like to obtain legal advice on Immigration matter then please contact our Immigration solicitors on 020 8983 8944 or by email on info@nwsolicitors.com.
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