The appellant had been convicted of supplying drugs, and ordered to be returned to Jamaica after her sentence. She had resisted saying that, as a lesbian, she would be persecuted if returned. The respondent conceded that the IAT had made an error of law, but not one which vitiated its conclusion. Without notice it resiled from its previous concession that the claimant was lesbian.
Held: The case should be remitted to allow reconsideration of the appellant’s sexual identity. However, the tribunal had been entitled to allow withdrawal of the concession: ‘the Tribunal may in its discretion permit a concession to be withdrawn if in its view there is good reason in all the circumstances for that course to be taken. Its discretion is wide. Its exercise will depend on the particular circumstances of the case before it. Prejudice to the applicant is a significant feature. So is its absence. Its absence does not however mean that an application to withdraw a concession will invariably be granted. Bad faith will almost certainly be fatal to an application to withdraw a concession. In the final analysis, what is important is that as a result of the exercise of its discretion the Tribunal is enabled to decide the real areas of dispute on their merits so as to reach a result which is just both to the appellant and the Secretary of State.’
Mummery LJ, Lloyd LJ, Goldring LJ
[2009] EWCA Civ 856, [2010] INLR 169
Bailii
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Carcabuk v Secretary of State for the Home Department IAT 18-May-2000
Collins J considered the circumstances under which a party could withdraw a concession previously given. Collins J said: ‘It is in our judgment important to identify the precise nature of any so-called concession. If it is of fact . . the . .
Cited – Davoodipanah v Secretary of State for the Home Department CA 29-Jan-2004
Before the adjudicator, the respondent had conceded that the asylum applicant had good reason to fear persecution if returned to her home country. He sought to withdraw that concession at the Immigration Appeal Tribunal.
Held: It was not for . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Immigration
Updated: 11 November 2021; Ref: scu.371881