Immigration lawyers express dismay at government’s proposals
The government is to implement the majority of its controversial proposals on judicial review—prompting widespread concern among immigration lawyers.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said last week the changes would stop judicial review being used as “a cheap delaying tactic”. His department singled out immigration-related applications for criticism—8,734 out of 11,359 judicial review applications in 2011 were to overturn an immigration decision, but only 607 were considered suitable for a hearing and 31 ultimately successful.
The changes include withdrawing the right to a hearing in person if a written application is declared “totally without merit”.
Applicants whose written application is turned down will have to pay a £215 court fee.
The time limit for applying for a judicial review will be halved from three months to six weeks for challenges to planning decisions, and reduced from three months to four weeks for challenges to procurement decisions.
However, the government has dropped two of its proposals: scrapping oral renewals for cases which have already had a hearing on substantially the same matter; and clarifying when the time limit starts for cases where there is a continuing issue or multiple decisions.
Sarah Daley, barrister at Garden Court North chambers, said: “I certainly don’t agree that it is a ‘cheap delaying tactic’.
“The real problem, that they haven’t dealt with or don’t want to deal with, is the really poor quality of decision making in the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and Home Office, and the UKBA’s unwillingness to engage with you at an early stage. You must write a letter before action before applying for judicial review so they have an opportunity to engage with you long before you go to court, but they don’t.
“‘Totally without merit’ is a very worrying development. It is entirely new. The civil courts do have this but it is mainly used for vexatious litigants. There is a definite possibility that there could be a bad decision. Judges make mistakes. They are not infallible.”
Garden Court North is organising a meeting next week for concerned immigration practitioners in the north to discuss the proposals. Call 0161 236 1840 for further details.
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