IAS case in Court of Appeal extends power of judiciary against that of Home Office with regard to Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children

Court of Appeal win for IAS safeguards unaccompanied asylum seeking children

Reported in The Times yesterday the case of CL (Vietnam) v Secretary of State for the Home Department sets out clearly that where an unaccompanied child seeking asylum appealed against the refusal of his claim and removal directions, it was necessary for the Immigration Judge, when considering that child’s human rights, to determine whether the reception facilities for the child on return were adequate. It was not solely an issue for the Secretary of State for the Home Department to determine.

“We are delighted with this judgment” said IAS Chief Executive Keith Best. “On too many occasions the Home Office has acted in an unfettered way and this was another example. Based on a 2004 judgment the Home Office had claimed that the Secretary of State was the sole determinant to assess the question of adequacy of reception arrangements in a claimant’s home country but, as the Court of Appeal found, it is the responsibility of the Immigration Judge to consider all the relevant evidence in relation to a claim under Article 8 of ECHR (the right to private and family life) and that included the adequacy of reception facilities. The Immigration Judge was not satisfied that there were adequate reception facilities for CL. On reconsideration the Senior Immigration Judge had overturned that. Thanks to the hard work of one of our solicitors, Ms. Tori Sicher, and the presentation of the case by counsel, Ms. Jackie Bond of 4 King's Bench Walk, the original decision of the Immigration Judge was vindicated.

“This will mean that such matters must be judged independently by the judiciary rather than by the Home Office which has its own vested interest in returning asylum seekers and acting defiantly towards the rule of law. It is another safeguard that is necessary to ensure that the executive acts within the law.”