News
The Secretary of State will suspend decision making in Appendix FM cases which turn on maintenance alone in the light of MM & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2013] EWHC 1900 (Admin) (there is a note to such effect on ILPA's members-only website).
In a new report, Amnesty International shows that Greek authorities are acting in flagrant violation of international law by pushing back migrants and refugees to Turkey, without any consideration of their protection needs. Click here for further details.
Cases
AA, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2013] UKSC 49
10 July 2013
The Supreme Court found that the existing procedures for determining age and judicial review challenges thereof were adequate in the context of unlawful detention challenges, although the majority thought that the writ of habeas corpus might operate such as to permit the Court to assess the claimed child's age for itself in cases of alleged unlawful detention of a child as well as in cases under section 20 of the Children Act 1989. To read the full judgment click here.
AA-R (Iran) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2013] EWCA Civ 835
12 July 2013
Rafferty LJ in the Court of Appeal found that a person who knew of activities such as beatings and torture and intended, even if on his own account unwillingly or with regret, to contribute to them, was complicit in crimes against humanity. To read the full judgment click here.
X, Y and Z v Minister voor Immigratie, Integratie en Asiel [2013] EUECJ C-199/12
11 July 2013
Advocate-General Eleanor Sharpston giving her opinion stated that applicants for refugee status who have a homosexual orientation may, depending on the circumstances in their country of origin, form a particular social group: it will be for the national court to assess whether such a group has a 'distinct identity', in the case of each applicant's country of origin, 'because it is perceived as being different by the surrounding society'. The criminalisation of homosexual acts does not per se constitute an act of persecution for the purposes of Article 9(1) of the Directive - relevant factors will be: the risk and frequency of prosecution; the severity of the sanction normally imposed; and any other measures and social practices to which the applicant may reasonably fear to be subjected. To read the full judgment click here.
M.AB.N. & Anor v The Advocate General For Scotland & Anor [2013] ScotCS CSIH_68
12 July 2013
The Inner House of the Court of Session departed from the views of the Upper Tribunal in RB Somalia and found that the Swedish linguistic company Sprakab had issued reports containing expressions of opinion for which there was no valid expert basis, which called into question the faith which the Upper Tribunal in RB placed in them: a fundamental criticism of Sprakab was the lack of indication that their operatives had any expertise in the identification of Somali dialects or, importantly, their geographical and social distribution. They additionally noted that a judicial tribunal must be satisfied that applications for the anonymity of witnesses before it are granted only exceptionally. To read the full judgment click here.
Immigration Law Training
OISC Leval 1 Accreditation Training
HJT Training has introduced a one day course for those newer to Immigration Law wishing to accredit at entry level. The aim of this course is to give delegates sufficient knowledge for Level 1 assessments with the OISC focussing on their new core requirements, their examinations being revamped from Summer 2013: HJT Training is now working in partnership with the OISC to design and deliver the new exams assessing OISC competence standards. Courses are running in London on 8 August and 19 September and in Birmingham on 23 July. For full details click here.
Challenging Immigration Decisions
ILPA, Wednesday 24 July
On Wednesday 24 July Mark Symes and Peter Jorro present the Challenging immigration decisions, appeal rights and other remedies for ILPA. For full details click here.
