The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) was a

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

constituted in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...

with

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Ju ...

to hear

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

s from many

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

and asylum decisions. It was created on 4 April 2005, replacing the former

Immigration Appellate Authority The Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) was an independent judicial body in the United Kingdom constituted under the Immigration Act 1971, with jurisdiction to hear appeals from many immigration and asylum decisions. Administered by the Tri ...

(IAA), and fell under the administration of the

Tribunals Service The Tribunals Service was an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice in the United Kingdom between April 2006 and March 2011. The Tribunals Service was responsible for: * Adjudicator for HM Land Registry * Asylum and Immigration Tribunal * C ...

. On 15 February 2010, the Tribunal was abolished and its functions transferred to the new Asylum and Immigration Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal created by the

Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provides for several diverse matters relating to the law, some of them being significant changes to the structure of the courts and fundamental ...

. The

Special Immigration Appeals Commission The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (also known by the acronym SIAC) is a superior court of record in the United Kingdom established by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 that deals with appeals from persons deported by t ...

(SIAC) has been set up to hear appeals against removal of potential deportees in high security cases. The information given to appellants and their representatives is limited as compared to other removal hearings.

History

Origins

The system of appeals to

adjudicator An adjudicator is someone who presides, judges, and arbitrates during a formal dispute or competition. They have numerous purposes, including preliminary legal judgments, to determine applicant eligibility, or to assess contenders' performance ...

s (who were appointed by the Secretary of State) with the right of subsequent appeal to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal (IAT) (whose members were appointed by the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

) was first created by the Immigration Appeals Act 1969 (1969 c.21).

The IAA

The predecessor of the AIT, the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA), was an independent judicial body in the

constituted under the

Immigration Act 1971 The Immigration Act 1971c 77 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning immigration and nearly entirely remaking the field of British immigration law. The Act, as with the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, and that of 1968, re ...

. It consisted of two tiers:Immigration Adjudicators and the Immigration Appeal Tribunal (IAT). Immigration Adjudicators considered appeals against decisions made by Immigration Officers, entry clearance officers and the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

, with permanent centres in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the a ...

in inner London,

Hatton Cross Hatton including Hatton Cross is a small settlement and locality in the London boroughs of Hillingdon and Hounslow, on the south-eastern edge of London Heathrow Airport and straddling the A30 road. Priot to 1965 it was in the county of Middlese ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. The IAT dealt with applications for leave to appeal and appeals against decisions made by the Immigration Adjudicators, the main hearing centre was in Bream's Buildings, just off

Chancery Lane Chancery Lane is a one-way street situated in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. It has formed the western boundary of the City since 1994, having previously been divided between the City of Westminster and the London Boro ...

, in Central London.

The creation of the AIT

The Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 abolished the two tier structure and created a single tier tribunal. All former adjudicators and members of the IAA became members of the new AIT. At this point, the Home Office Adjudicators became known as Immigration Judges, although many of these are not officially qualified as judges, and the former regional adjudicators became Senior Immigration Judges, who are mostly involved in reconsideration applications for previously dismissed appeals.

Procedure

At hearings, asylum seekers and would-be immigrants are usually, but not invariably, represented by legal representatives including barristers,

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

s, and those registered with the Office of the Immigration Service Commissioner.Immigration Solicitor
Service Commissioner Procedure The

UK government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

is usually represented by Home Office Presenting Officers ("HOPOs"); specially trained

Civil Servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leader ...

s. For some significant cases, the Home Office instructs a barrister from

TSol T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty) is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. Although most commonly associated with hardcore punk, T.S.O.L.'s music has varied on each release, including such styles as deathrock, ...

to conduct the case. Procedure is governed by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (Procedure) Rules 2005 (SI 2005/230).

Further Appeals

Ordinarily, there is no right to

a decision of the AIT. The AIT makes most initial decisions through a single immigration judge. Such decisions can be "reconsidered". An order for reconsideration is sought by making a written request to the High Court in England and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

or the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

( Outer House) in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. For an indefinite period requests for reconsideration orders will be considered initially by Immigration judges of the AIT ("the filter"); should the request be refused a party can opt into the High Court or Court of Session. Either of the parties (the Home Secretary or the Appellant) can apply for reconsideration, within strict time limits (for example, 5 days from receipt of the decision if the Appellant is in the UK). Such an application must be made in writing. A Senior Immigration Judge considers whether or not the grounds for reconsideration are "arguable". The only matters which can be considered are errors of law. A party cannot say that he seeks a re-hearing of the facts or that the factual conclusions reached by the Immigration Judge are wrong. He can only seek reconsideration if the Immigration Judge has misdirected himself in law, failed to consider relevant material, considered irrelevant material, or erred in his fact-finding to the extent that the findings are irrational and therefore amount to an error of law. If permission is refused on the papers, the party may renew his application for an order for reconsideration to the High Court or Court of Session. Again, the time limits are short. If the High Court or Court of Sessions agree that the AIT has made a mistake in not considering the application for reconsideration, he may order the AIT to reconsider. A successful application comes before the AIT for reconsideration. Most of these cases are heard at the old IAT, at Field House, Bream's Buildings, just off Chancery Lane in central London. Some are heard elsewhere. The initial hearing is a first-stage reconsideration, usually called an "error of law hearing" by lawyers and Immigration Judges. The panel of Immigration Judges (usually one legally-qualified Senior Immigration Judge and one or two lay members) determine whether a material error of law was made in the determination (judgment). If they conclude that no error was made, that is the end of the matter in front of the AIT. If they conclude that there was a material error of law, they may either reconsider the case in full or in part themselves, or (more usually) order that it be re-heard at a later date. They may set out that all the case be re-considered, or only part of it, depending on the exact circumstances. The second-stage reconsideration may be heard by three Immigration Judges, or by a single Immigration Judge. After a re-hearing, or if the AIT which hears a case for the first time has a 3 or more members, the decision may only be challenged by an appeal to the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

(Civil Division) in England and Wales, or the

(Inner House) in Scotland. Permission is required for such an appeal either from the Tribunal itself or the relevant court.

References

External links

AIT websiteSeeking Refuge? A handbook for asylum-seeking women
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asylum And Immigration Tribunal Immigration to the United Kingdom Former courts and tribunals in the United Kingdom Immigration law Right of asylum in the United Kingdom Asylum tribunals 2005 establishments in the United Kingdom Courts and tribunals disestablished in 2010 Courts and tribunals established in 2005