Government and Parliament
The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill received royal assent. The Government will begin introducing provisions within the Act in June, with full implementation not expected until 2008. EIN members can see a recent version by Clicking Here
The World
More than 100 young asylum seekers who fled to Scotland with no family or support received inadequate protection, having been placed temporarily in hostels for the homeless and encountered racism among staff, according to a report published by the Scottish Refugee Council, for more info Click Here
Case law
The Court of Appeal's Criminal Division in R v Asfew[2006] EWCA Crim 707 (21 March 2006) were critical of what seemed to be CPS practice of combining a charge of infringement of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act with a charge of attempting to obtain air services by deception when an asylum seeker is attempting to leave this country for another place of refuge using false documents. Where the attempt to fly abroad was in order to seek asylum, conduct which, on the Crown's concession, should attract no punishment were there to be full compliance by this country with Article 31 of the Refugee Convention, it might be appropriate that the appellant should have an absolute discharge pursuant to section 12 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000.
Collins J in the Administrative Court in R (A, H and AH) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWHC 526 (Admin) (22 March 2006) noted that a Respondent authority owes a duty to the court to cooperate and make candid disclosure of the relevant facts and the reasoning behind the decision challenged in the judicial review proceedings. In the cases of asylum seekers who might have benefited from Home Office policies that once prevailed on Iraq, the Secretary of State had signally failed to do so, and in the absence of any reasonable explanation, the court was entitled at the very least to infer flagrant and prolonged incompetence.
Pill LJ in the Court of Appeal in N v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWCA Civ 299 (28 March 2006) observed that rule 390 of the Immigration Rules requires consideration of "all the circumstances" and these are expressly stated to include "the grounds of which the order was made", with the consequence that the analysis of an alleged change of circumstances inevitably involves a consideration of the grounds on which the order was made.
Sedley LJ in the Court of Appeal in Q v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWCA Civ 351 (9 March 2006) warned that reference to the asylum screening interview by way of a generic assumption that asylum seekers, given the opportunity, will be coached in false claims and/or will confabulate their account of events, so that the screening interview by anticipating this process affords "the best evidence"suggests a stereotypical and negative attitude to asylum seekers as a class.
The Tribunal in FB & Ors (HC 395 para 284: "six months") Bangladesh [2006] UKAIT 00030 (16 March 2006) considered the terms of paragraph 284 of the Immigration Rules, HC 395, which sets out the requirements for an extension of stay as the spouse of the person present and settled in the United Kingdom.
The Tribunal in DA (EEA, revocation of residence document) Algeria [2006] UKAIT 00027 (09 March 2006)ruled, in the context of EC free movement law, that if the rights conferred on a worker are no longer being exercised because the worker has left the host state, there is nothing inconsistent with Community legislation in bringing to an end the derivative rights of the worker's family member at that point. For more info Click Here
The Tribunal in OY (Ankara Agreement; standstill clause; worker's family) Turkey [2006] UKAIT 00028 (17 March 2006) found that the standstill clause in the Ankara Agreement does not restrict Member States' ability to regulate and control entry to family members to those national rules in force at the time of accession to the European Community. For more info Click Here
Reviewing their own case law, the 9th Circuit of the US Court of Appeals found in Miranda-Alvarado v Gonzales (21 March 2006) that mere membership in an organization, even one which engages in persecution, is not sufficient to exclude a person from the Refugee Convention, unless one's action or inaction furthers that persecution in some way. However, an interpreter who was a regular part of interrogation teams who questioned Shining Path members, translating the questions and answers that were interspersed with electric shock torture, was found to have actively assisted persecution. They added that where the evidence suggested that individuals were selected for interrogation on the basis of their affiliation or suspected affiliation with an opposition group, not because they themselves were suspected of criminal activity, persecution was on account of political opinion. For more info Click Here
Garden Court Chambers seminars
30th May 06 - Crime and immigration seminar. For more info Click Here
Other seminar and training providers
ILPA Training
Public Funding in Immigration, Thursday 27 April 2006, 3 CPD points. Call ILPA on 0207 251 8383 to book.
JCWI Training The laws governing working in the UK
11 April 2006 10am - 1.00pm (CPD: 2.5 hours)
A course to give detailed knowledge of the laws and procedures governing coming to or staying in the UK to work. Basic knowledge and experience of the work permit system is expected. Call 0207 251 8708 to book.
HJT Training and Research - Country Information Conference
June 2006
A conference featuring practitioners and experts on Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Democratic Republic of Congo. Call 0208 303 3013 or Click Here for further details.
