The asylum seeker appealed against a decision, saying the notice of hearing had not been received by him. The Immigration Appeal Tribunal rejected his appeal without consideration of his application on the merits and without giving him opportunity to be heard. The adjudicator said he had complied with the rules.
Held: Neither the applicant nor his solicitors acknowledged receipt of the notice, nor attended the hearing. The adjudicator took evidence of posting as rebuttable evidence of receipt. However the adjudicator had not made proper allowance for all the circumstances. It would have been wise at least to have obtained a better explanation of events, including as a minimum a call to the solicitors. On appeal against the decision the Immigration Appela tribunal had notice of assertions hat the notice had not been received. It made no finding on those assertions, but ignored them. That was unlawful, and if having considered the evidence it had concluded an appeal had a chance of success, he should have allowed the appeal.
Judges:
Wilson J
Citations:
Times 11-Jun-2003
Statutes:
Immigration and Asylum Appeals (Procedure) Rules 2000 (2000 No 2333) 30(2) 33
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Immigration, Natural Justice
Updated: 06 August 2022; Ref: scu.183686