Adewale v Secretary of State for the Home Department

An apparent failure by an immigration tribunal to address an important allegation raised before it may justify permission to appeal, particularly where the allegation was accepted at first instance and was material to the case. The court may examine further material to determine whether the issue was properly before the tribunal and whether it was overlooked in the tribunal’s conclusions.

The claimant applied for permission to appeal from an Immigration Appeal Tribunal determination notified on 4 July 2000. He alleged that he had suffered Nigerian police brutality in November 1999. Following an adjournment, further material established that the allegation had been raised before the tribunal and had not been disclaimed. The tribunal chairman indicated that the adjudicator had accepted the allegation. The central issue was whether the tribunal had lost sight of that material issue when reaching its conclusions.

Per Lord Justice Rix. The application for permission to appeal was allowed.

1. The court had adjourned the permission application on notice so that it could investigate whether the alleged Nigerian police brutality of November 1999 had been raised before the tribunal or had been disclaimed.
2. The further material showed that the allegation had been raised and remained before the tribunal. A letter from the tribunal chairman also indicated that the adjudicator had accepted the allegation.
3. Although the allegation appeared to have been mentioned in a glancing way, possibly in paragraph 8C of the tribunal’s reasons, Lord Justice Rix was concerned that the issue had been lost sight of by the time the tribunal reached its conclusions.
4. In view of that apparent omission and the importance of the subject matter, permission to appeal was warranted. The substantive merits of the appeal were not determined at this hearing.

The order was: application allowed; Legal Services Commission assessment granted.

• Court of Appeal (Civil Division): In [2001] EWCA Civ 2089, Lord Justice Rix allowed the application for permission to appeal and granted Legal Services Commission assessment.
• Immigration Appeal Tribunal: The tribunal’s determination was notified on 4 July 2000. The Court of Appeal was concerned that an allegation of Nigerian police brutality, accepted by the adjudicator, had not been properly addressed in the tribunal’s conclusions.