News
The Home Office Country of Origin Information Service published new country reports for April 2006. They include Vietnam, Pakistan, China and Gambia. Click Here to view them. Although to determine which have just been published it may be more efficient to look at the Ecoi website.
Court of Appeal
The judges in Reka v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWCA Civ 552 (16 May 2006) were critical of an adjudicator who had found the absence of marks on an asylum seeker's body to be inconsistent with a history of torture. Although the appeal was ultimately dismissed, Sedley LJ usefully stated "The in-country information about modern Iran demonstrates the arbitrariness and brutality with which the state's powers are exercised against those perceived as untrustworthy. It is entirely possible for an individual to be informed upon, quite possibly untruthfully, and subjected in consequence to prolonged detention and torture by security authorities over whom there is no independent judicial control." Click Here to read more
In Ozturk & Ors, R. (On the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWCA Civ 541 (18 May 2006) the Court reversed the decisions of the judges below, and found that students and au pairs, whilst they might be workers within the meaning of European law, are not in "legal employment" as Laws LJ construed that term's meaning in European law. Click Here to read more
The Tribunal
In FN (Article 8, removal, viable options) Eritrea [2006] UKAIT 00044 (18 April 2006) the Tribunal found that the assessment of an in-country Article 8 claim will normally first require consideration of (i) whether there are insurmountable obstacles to the appellant's family accompanying him or her abroad and then second, (ii) whether even if there exist such obstacles, there is a viable option of an entry clearance application. The fact that before being able to apply for entry clearance a person may have to perform military service in his country of origin will not normally be a factor of any significance in assessing the proportionality of a return in the context of Article 8.
Click Here to read more
The AIT have began referring to the case of Anderton v Clwyd County Council [2002] EWCA Civ 933 as a means of shortening appeal deadlines. The view of some Senior Immigration Judges is that weekend dates should be included when calculating the date of deemed service. Click Here to read more
Abroad
In Refugee Appeal No 75779 the New Zealand Refugee Status Appeals Authority allowed the appeal of a Syrian military service evader. They found that feelings of nationalistic fervour amongst the Arab officer elite could translate into harsher treatment of Kurdish conscripts compared to their Arab counterparts. The risk to any individual Kurd appeared to depend on whether the person volunteered or was conscripted, and their own personal characteristics, judged against the wider political climate at the time of service.
For more info Click Here
Garden Court Chambers Seminars
Free Immigration Seminar - The new Citizens' Directive and EEA Regs. 4-7pm
31st May 2006
13th June 2006 (repeated)
Click Here for more details and to book
Other seminar and training providers
ILPA - On Tuesday 23 May 2006 Sophie Barrett-Brown will be presenting a course on Work Permit and other applications to work in the UK.
Book via 0207 251 8383.
EIN Training EIN will be visiting Newcastle upon Tyne on Friday 16th June (at Newcastle University) for a course running from 1.00pm-5.30pm (4 hrs CPD) at which they will be putting their website through its paces. Call 0845 458 4151 to book.
Events Reminders
NewcastleUniversity is planning a conference on refugee law on 20-21st September 2006 to which academic and practitioner delegates are welcome. Please contact Dr James Sweeney at NewcastleLawSchool with expressions of interest in attending or regarding the submission of papers. Email: j.a.sweeney@ncl.ac.uk