After The Times reports Government will move judges to Upper Tribunal, Alex Chalk clarifies it is for judiciary to decide
Alex Chalk MP, the Lord High Chancellor, has today made a written statement to the House of Commons setting out how the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) is increasing capacity in preparation for appeals in relation to the Illegal Migration Act 2023.
Image credit: UK GovernmentThe Times reported earlier today that government ministers were preparing to announce plans to move 150 immigration judges from the First-tier Tribunal to the Upper Tribunal in order to fast-track appeals arising from the Rwanda legislation. The Times added that judges would be paid more to work on evenings and weekends. A government source told The Times that it would enable appeals to be dealt with swiftly and not clog up the system.
As The Times reported later today, that drew criticism from Dame Sue Carr, the Lady Chief Justice and Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales. Lady Carr was appearing before the House of Commons Justice Committee. She told the Committee: "I'm afraid that this headline draws matters of judicial responsibility into the political arena. Parliament has legislated, we the judiciary have acted in preparation for that legislation. But to be absolutely clear, matters of deployment of judges, the allocation of work for judges and the use of courtrooms is exclusively a matter for the judiciary and, more specifically, a matter for myself and the Senior President of the Tribunals. It's really important that people understand that clear division."
The Lord Chancellor clarified in his statement today that he has asked the Judicial Appointments Commission to recruit more judges to the Immigration and Asylum Chambers, but it would be for the judiciary to decide when judges sit and whether First-tier judges would be deployed to the Upper Tribunal.
Alex Chalk stated: "The Illegal Migration Act provides for First-tier Tribunal judges to be deployed to sit in the Upper Tribunal to hear Illegal Migration Act appeals. The judiciary have identified relevant judges, which could provide over 5,000 additional sitting days. The decision on whether to deploy additional judges temporarily to the Upper Tribunal, including when they sit and the courtrooms they use, is for the independent judiciary and will be taken by the relevant leadership judges at the time and in the interests of justice. In addition, the Lord Chancellor has asked the Judicial Appointments Commission to recruit more judges to the First-tier and Upper Tribunal. The recruitment will conclude in the next few months and new judges will be appointed, trained, and start sitting from this summer."
A copy of the Lord Chancellor's full statement is reproduced below:
Tribunal Capacity Update
Statement made by
Alex Chalk
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Illegal Migration Act, once commenced, will provide for accelerated claims and appeal timescales for individuals subject to the Duty to Remove provisions of the Act when making suspensive claims relating to the narrow grounds of serious harm and removals conditions. The Act provides that these appeals are to be heard in the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) rather than the First-tier Tribunal.
The Act sets out that, once issued with a third country removal notice, individuals will have 8 days to make a claim to the Secretary of State for the Home Department. Having received a claim, the Secretary of State will have 4 days to consider the claim and decide whether it should succeed, and if not, whether to certify it as clearly unfounded.
Where a claim is certified as unfounded, there is no automatic right of appeal. The individual can be removed unless they apply to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal within 7 working days from being given notice of the certification. These applications will normally be dealt with on the papers, noting that this is a judicial decision. The Upper Tribunal must decide whether to allow the appeal to proceed and notify the parties within 7 working days from when the application is made (there is no right of appeal against the Tribunal's decision). The Upper Tribunal may not extend either of these timeframes, unless it is satisfied that it is the only way to secure that justice is done in a particular case.
Where the Secretary of State for the Home Department rejects the initial claim but does not certify it as clearly unfounded, or where the Upper Tribunal gives permission to appeal, the individual has 7 working days from when they are notified of the Secretary of State's decision, or from when they are given permission to appeal, to give notice of appeal to the Upper Tribunal. The Upper Tribunal must make their decision and give notice of that decision to the parties within 23 working days from the day the appeal was lodged. Again, the Upper Tribunal may extend either of these timeframes only if it is satisfied that it is the only way to secure that justice is done in a particular case.
The Ministry of Justice has been working to increase capacity in the justice system in preparation for the commencement of the Act. Additional hearing rooms have been prepared, making a total of 25 hearing rooms available within the existing Immigration and Asylum Chamber (IAC) estate in London. These rooms are set up with remote hearing technology, allowing for either in-person or remote hearings to maximise flexibility. Over 100 additional staff have been recruited to support the Upper Tribunal's work and are currently undertaking training ready for the commencement of the Illegal Migration Act.
The Illegal Migration Act provides for First-tier Tribunal judges to be deployed to sit in the Upper Tribunal to hear Illegal Migration Act appeals. The judiciary have identified relevant judges, which could provide over 5,000 additional sitting days. The decision on whether to deploy additional judges temporarily to the Upper Tribunal, including when they sit and the courtrooms they use, is for the independent judiciary and will be taken by the relevant leadership judges at the time and in the interests of justice. In addition, the Lord Chancellor has asked the Judicial Appointments Commission to recruit more judges to the First-tier and Upper Tribunal. The recruitment will conclude in the next few months and new judges will be appointed, trained, and start sitting from this summer.
We are confident that, with the additional court room and judicial capacity detailed above, in line with projected levels agreed with the Home Office the vast majority of Illegal Migration Act appeal work will be dealt with by the courts in an expedited manner.