The Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) was an independent judicial body 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

constituted under the

Immigration Act 1971 The Immigration Act 1971 (c. 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 ...

, with

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

to hear

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, 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 cla ...

s from many

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

and

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

decisions. Administered by 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 to HM Land Registry *Asylum and Immigration Tribunal * Cla ...

, it was superseded in 2005 by the

Asylum and Immigration Tribunal The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) was a tribunal constituted in the United Kingdom with jurisdiction to hear appeals from many immigration and asylum decisions. It was created on 4 April 2005, replacing the former Immigration Appellate A ...

, which itself was superseded in 2010 by the Asylum and Immigration Chamber of the

First-tier Tribunal The First-tier Tribunal is a first-instance general tribunal in the United Kingdom. It was created in 2008 as part of a programme, enacted in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, to rationalise the tribunal system, and has since t ...

created by the

Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (c. 15) 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 fund ...

Description

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' performan ...

s appointed by the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

, with the right of appeal to a body then called the Immigration Appeal Tribunal, with members appointed by the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

, was created by the Immigration Appeals Act 1969. As a result of the

, the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) became an independent judicial body consisting of two tiers: Immigration Adjudicators and an Immigration Appeal Tribunal (IAT). The Adjudicators initially considered appeals against decisions made by Immigration Officers,

entry clearance Since 1945, immigration to the United Kingdom, controlled by British immigration law and to an extent by British nationality law, has been significant, in particular from the former territories of the British Empire and the European Union. ...

officers and the

, based in permanent centres in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

, 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. Prior to 1965 it was in the county of Middles ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. The Tribunal dealt with applications for

leave to 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 ...

and appeals against decisions made by the Immigration Adjudicators, with its main hearing centre in Bream's Buildings, off

Chancery Lane Chancery Lane is a one-way street that forms part of the City of London#Boundary, western boundary of the City of London. The east side of the street is entirely within the City,barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

or a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer 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 enabled to p ...

of at least seven years' standing. From 1999, a High Court judge was appointed President rather than a member of the IAA. Both lay members and legally-qualified members were appointed to the IAT.

Presidents of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal

* -1997: George Farmer * 1997–1999: David Pearl * 1999–2002: Sir Andrew Collins * 2002–2005: Sir Duncan Ouseley

Replacement

The two tier structure of the Immigration Appellate Authority was abolished by the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004, which created the single tier

to replace it. All former adjudicators and members of the IAA became members of the new AIT. The Home Office Adjudicators became known as Immigration Judges, although many of them were not formally qualified as judges. The former 'regional adjudicators' became known as Senior Immigration Judges, mostly involved in reconsidering applications for challenging the outcome of appeals.

References

{{Authority control Immigration to the United Kingdom Former courts and tribunals in the United Kingdom Right of asylum in the United Kingdom Asylum tribunals 1971 establishments in the United Kingdom 2010 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Courts and tribunals established in 1971 Courts and tribunals disestablished in 2010

Description

Presidents of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal

Replacement

See also

References