UTIAC (1) Parties should assist the First-tier Tribunal at Case Management Review hearings (CMRs) to produce written confirmation of issues agreed and concessions made.
(2) If credibility is not in issue, it will often be unnecessary to submit a further statement by an appellant, or call her to give evidence. If this approach is taken, the judge should be told why.
(3) Any further statement should not be a rehash of what has already been said. It should be directed to the remaining live issues.
(4) Any skeleton argument should contain not just general law. It should be directed to the live issues.
(5) A judge who accepts and records an agreement is best placed to understand its scope, and should consider reserving the case to herself.
(6) Representatives are jointly responsible for drawing attention of the hearing judge to the agreement reached, and the nature of the decision still required.
(7) Judges look behind factual concessions only in exceptional circumstances. If the scope of a concession is unclear, or if evidence develops in such a way that its extent and correctness need to be revisited, the judge must draw that to attention of representatives. Adjournment may become necessary.
Judges:
Ockleton VP, MacLeman UTJ
Citations:
[2012] UKUT 327 (IAC)
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Immigration
Updated: 09 November 2022; Ref: scu.466464