IA221792013 & ors

These appeals are brought by citizens of Ghana against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal dismissing their appeal against the decision of the Secretary of State on 21 May 2013 to remove them from the United Kingdom. It is their case that removing them is contrary to their rights under the Human Rights Act 1998 and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights because it would be a disproportionate interference with their private and family lives.

There was no anonymity order made in the First-tier Tribunal but I think that an anonymity order is appropriate in this case which is essentially about the welfare of children. For the same reasons that anonymity is preserved in the family courts I think it essential that the anonymity of the minor appellants is preserved and consequentially the anonymity of their mother must also be preserved. I make the normal order restraining publication details in this case in a way that allows the children to be identified.

I do not understand the delay in promulgating this decision. A nearly completed draft Determination was prepared either at or soon after the hearing but the files seem to have been misplaced. They were brought to me this morning and the Determination was completed immediately.

All three appellants are citizens of Ghana. The appellant in IA 22179 2013 is the mother of the two other appellants. The minor appellants were born in 2004 and 2010 so are now aged 9 years and 3 � years. They have lived all their lives in the United Kingdom.

Because of the antiquity of the particular decision before me, this case was decided without reference to the changes in the Immigration Rules that purport to encapsulate the requirements of Article 8. Therefore, the First-tier Tribunal correctly in my judgment conducted analysis without regard to the new Rules, but without, as I have indicated, regard to the essential premise of the best interests of the children.