Tribunal timescales

Tribunal timescales are a particularly important part of thec ‘Hostile Environment Experience’ — there basic two dynamics cover the essence of the latter through:

a) at one extreme (most UK Immigration Tribunal service users experience this, we believe and argue, deliberately and planned from the outset by the Whitehall architects of the Hostile Environment, and implemented through the de-facto, associate Immigration Tribunal) excruciatingly long delays in having your court/oral hearing or hearing on the papers — this in practice a ‘wearing down to encourage giving up, exercise’

b) at the other extreme, if your case is politically very sensitive then often you will find an appeal, particularly an appeal against a Tribunal decision of a questionable kind, may be rushed through giving you no time to prepare effectively (this fits with the practice encountered where the Tribunal does not issue a word of censure when the Home Office ‘Respondent’ provides — breaking the supposed mandatory conditions of the Tribunal on this very important ‘fair hearing versus kangaroo court’ issue — its ‘Bundle’ [legal papers] to the Appellant even as late as 10 minutes before one of the Tribunal’s oral hearings). Of course on this there are sinister IT parallels as a recent (February 2020) mass deportation showed, where by a very unusual coincidence internet/mobile phone systems collapsed exactly at the time where the deportees had their last remaining opportunity [that this seeming by chance IT ‘glitch’ denied: a glitch that one must reasonably allow for being NOT accidental, and potentially connected at a technology level to those within the state, with particular highest level expertise] to contact their lawyers/solicitors to intervene.

In this sense Immigration Tribunal Appeal timetables are a matter of: ‘How long is a piece of string? How short a hangman’s noose’?

It can take a very long time (half a year or more commonly) for your case to be heard, but once it has taken place you will often learn the result within approximately two weeks.  If as is not uncommon there are extreme special circumstances or major new developments that warrant requesting the case to be heard as soon as possible, you can put in an expedite the hearing: these expedition requests are often successful if your circumstances are compelling*. 

Conversely, if a case has particular political, Hostile Environment abuses of process and power characteristics, attempts to get the legal basis for a rushed, illegal deportation are pushed through, with the Appellant being given scant time to prepare for an effective appeal.: commonly the judge presiding over the case will take no action or make formal complaint to the Home Office / Respondent representative about these ensuring the hearing is not conducted on a ‘level playing field’ fair, basis tactics – the Appellant, very disempowered by the latter, has to just endure them  There is more information on these and other such tactics on our Hearings page — http://needtoknow-immigrationuk.com/hearings/

*In new development exceptional circumstances you can contact the Tribunal to have your appeal expedited: many of these requests if genuine and backed by compelling evidence, are granted – however.  In practice, even if lives are at risk IF the UKVI/Home Office de-facto ‘do not want the case to succeed’ the case may be expedited but will often not be treated with the seriousness or objectivity of consideration that such cases deserve. 

This because of the major Home Office & Immigration Tribunal credibility of being, as publicly asserted by both, issue of being truly at operational and strategic level independent of each other.  If under the Hostile Environment, the Home Office want a particular case for ‘punishing challenge to Hostile Environment operational level’ to be treated in a non-equitable [fair / objectively considered] then it will ensure through its special relationship with the those at strategic leadership in HMCTS Immigration Tribunal, that the case is treated in such a way.

The most common mechanism for implementing this ‘compliance’ [de-facto doing what the Home Office politely/discreetly, but firmly ‘instruct’] at the Tribunal, being to ensure the case is going to be considered as an Oral Hearing (‘Hearings on the Papers’ give no such opportunities as the latter do for defending revealed Home Office/UKVI malpractice, especially against targeted population groups), and ensuring on the Immigration Tribunal cases hearing circuit, that such cases are – it can be reasonably argued on the basis of interesting ‘timing coincidences’ heard by Immigration Tribunal judges who have (on evidence of the relevant particulars of the decisions they make and related Decision & Reasons Papers) a trusted record on Hostile Environment supporting decisions.