NA & Anor v Secretary of State for the Home Department

MISS BELINDA BUCKNALL QC Sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge ____________________

Nicola Braganza (instructed by Douglas & Partners) for the Claimants Nicola Greaney (instructed by The Treasury Solicitor) for the Defendant Hearing date: 7 November 2008 ____________________

i) Applications should be dealt with in light of any relevant policy in force at the date when the application was made, irrespective of whether it was still in force at the date when the application was determined.

iii) By relying upon the date upon which the application is determined as the relevant date for the purpose of considering what if any policy applies to the applicant, instead of the date upon which the application was made, the Defendant is breaching the Claimants' legitimate expectation of fairness and consistency.

vi) No explanation has been offered for the delay between each Claimant's application and the date on which the Failed Asylum Seekers' Policy came to an end and given the Court's comment in R(A), (H) and (AH) 's case that Iraqi Kurd cases were (during the period of the policy) relatively straightforward, the failure to deal promptly with each claim is inexcusable