Ganafa, R (on the application of) v Immigration Appeal Tribunal

The court adjourned the substantive proceedings after finding that the claimant’s solicitors were not competent to deal with the case as presented. It directed the claimant’s solicitors to pay £750 in wasted costs for the hearing. The court also ordered the respondent’s solicitors to prepare the bundle, required the claimant to identify the live issues and serve a proper skeleton argument, and reserved the costs of bundle preparation. The judgment contains procedural directions rather than a determination of the underlying immigration or human-rights issues.

The claimant sought judicial review of a decision of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal. At the hearing, the court considered that the claimant’s solicitors had failed adequately to prepare the case. The live issues appeared to concern Victoria, article 8 and, potentially, certification. The court therefore addressed competence, wasted costs and case management, rather than determining the substantive claim.

1. Wasted costs. Having considered the evidence and the history of the case, the court concluded that the claimant’s solicitors were not competent to deal with it. The court directed that its observation be transcribed and sent to the Legal Services Commission.
2. The claimant’s solicitors accepted responsibility for the defendant’s costs thrown away at the hearing. The court ordered payment of £750 to the Secretary of State in respect of those costs.
3. Case management. The Secretary of State was directed, by agreement, to prepare the bundle. The claimant was ordered to file within seven days a statement identifying the live issues and, thereafter, a proper skeleton argument setting out the legal submissions. The Secretary of State was to respond.
4. The claimant was required to consider whether certification was a live issue. The court noted that the claimant had a copy of the Court of Appeal decision in Balamurali and Sandhu, but did not analyse or determine that authority.
5. The costs of preparing the bundle were reserved for consideration at the conclusion of the hearing. The case was adjourned.