Government announces proposals for a new fast track system, seeks responses by 22 November
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) announced today that the Government has begun a consultation on proposals for an expedited appeals process for detained immigration and asylum appellants.
You can access the consultation page here, the consultation document here, and the impact assessment here.
The consultation closes on 22 November and you can respond using the online survey or by post to Expedited Appeals Process Consultation, Administrative Justice, 3.38, Ministry of Justice, 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ or by email to admin.justice@justice.gsi.gov.uk.
Garden Court's Colin Yeo said on Twitter that it was "basically a consultation on a new detained fast track appeal process". The Court of Appeal ruled last year that the detained fast track system was "systemically unfair and unjust" and thus unlawful.
The MOJ said today that any new process needs to balance speed and efficiency with accessibility and fairness.
Sir Oliver Heald, Minister of State for Justice, said in the consultation document: "It is vitally important that people can appeal immigration and asylum decisions made by the Home Office as efficiently as possible. This is even more important when appellants are held in detention. It is in all parties' interests that time in detention should not be prolonged.
"But the process has got to be fair.
"Previously, people whose asylum claim had been refused and who were detained in specific Immigration Removal Centres had their appeal fast tracked under the Detained Fast Track Rules 2014. In July 2015, the Detained Fast Track was quashed following a Court of Appeal judgment that found the rules unlawful, due to the speed of the process coupled with a lack of sufficient safeguards for appellants.
"We have carefully considered the Court of Appeal's concerns and have taken steps to address them in our proposals for a new fast track."
The key proposals in the consultation are:
• that there needs to be new dedicated rules for detained appellants within the principal rules
• to apply the expedited appeals process to all appellants detained in Immigration Removal Centres or prison who appeal a Home Office immigration decision
• a suggested revised timescale from the point of the Home Office decision to the appeal being determined
• whether there should be a case management review stage in the appeal process
• the government should charge a fee to bring an appeal.