LS Legal Solicitors (RUSSIAN)

Home Office Decisions Take Too Long says Judge

Friday 20th April 2018

The Home Office have been criticised for its protracted processing of Immigration applications in the recent Court of Appeal case Secretary of State for the Home Department v Said [2018] EWCA Civ 627. The case involved the Home Office appealing a decision from the High Court allowing the application for a Judicial Review to be brought in relation to damages, where the Judge was extremely critical of the Home Office.

The case related to Respondents whom had applied for Indefinite Leave to Remain in 2004. In April 2013, they issued Judicial Review proceedings challenging the Secretary of State's failure to determine the applications. The Home Office then granted Indefinite Leave to Remain to the first respondent and limited leave to the third respondent. At a hearing in October 2014, the judge gave directions for Judicial Review proceedings seeking damages for the delay to continue. The Respondent was claiming for a quashing order as well as damages under the Human Rights Act 1998.

At the hearing, the judge granted permission for the Judicial Review and declared that the delay had been unlawful, with issues of damages, causation and quantification to be determined at a later hearing.

In the Court of Appeal, the Secretary of State tried to argue the Home Office's internal complaints procedure would have been adequate to deal with the matter rather than bringing a Judicial Review claim and relied on the judgement of Anufrijeva v London Borough of Southwark which concluded that before granting permission to apply for Judicial Review, the court should require the claimant to explain why it would not be more appropriate to use an internal complaints procedure or to proceed with a complaint to the relevant Ombudsman.

The Judge in this case then criticised the Secretary of State's assertions by stating that further, what was known of the nature of the complaints system did not give much support to the view that it was appropriate for these claims and that Complaints Management Guidance provided by the Home Office was a document of little help and that they simply failed to grasp the scale and seriousness of the complaints being made and of the delays that had occurred.

The Court of Appeal ruled that delays in decision-making can go beyond maladministration and amount to a breach of human rights and just satisfaction for the breach may lead to substantial damages. The court also held that the Home Office's internal complaints procedure did not amount to an alternative remedy to be pursued before legal proceedings are brought.

This decision highlights the inadequacy of the Home Office's complaints procedure and the importance of the judicial system when it comes to claiming compensation for unduly long delays in reaching decisions in immigration applications.

If you are awaiting a Home Office decision and feel that the decision-making process has been unduly long, we recommend that you seek legal advice in how to pursue this matter further.

LS Legal Solicitors have established an outstanding reputation in liaising with the Home Office. Should you be a victim of these long delays, please contact our firm on 020 81 44 55 88, via email on info@LSLegaLUK.com or use the contact box to discuss your matter or make an appointment.