header-logo header-logo

No halt for asylum fast track

16 October 2014
Issue: 7626 / Categories: Legal News
printer mail-detail

The Home Office does not need to suspend its detained fast track (DFT) process despite an earlier finding that it is unlawful, the Court of Appeal has held.

In July, Mr Justice Ouseley held that the DFT process had been operating unlawfully, but declined to suspend it until the Home Office had taken steps to address the risk of unfairness identified by the court.

Detention Action, the campaign group which brought the challenge, appealed, in R (on the application of Detention Action) v Home Secretary [2014] EWCA Civ 1270.

Delivering judgment, Lord Justice Longmore said: “The true questions for this court are whether the judge had a discretion to refuse relief other than a declaration and, if so, whether his discretion was wrongly exercised.”

The Home Office has taken steps to redress the unfairness, including reconsidering some cases.

Jerome Phelps, director of Detention Action, says: “We are disappointed. However, it is significant that neither court has found that the Home Office has addressed this unlawfulness.”

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll