IS v Director of Legal Aid Casework
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
- LORD JUSTICE PITCHFORD
- LORD JUSTICE BEATSON
- LORD JUSTICE GLOSTER
Areas of Law
- Administrative Law
- Human Rights Law
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The appellant, a cognitively impaired and blind Nigerian national, appealed against the High Court's refusal to grant a protective costs order (PCO) for his judicial review challenging the denial of exceptional legal aid funding to regularize his immigration status. The Court of Appeal overturned the refusal, emphasizing the significant public interest in the case, primarily around the accessibility of justice for vulnerable individuals. The court found the claimant's private interest did not preclude the grant of a PCO, balancing public interest considerations.
J U D G M E N T
LORD JUSTICE PITCHFORD: This is an appeal against the refusal of the High Court to make a protective costs order ("PCO") in current judicial review proceedings, permission having been granted by Ouseley J on 25 April 2014. The appellant is the claimant in the judicial review claim and the respondents are the defendants to that claim. I shall refer to them as claimant and defendants respectively.
The claimant is a 59-year old national of Nigeria who, it is believed, has been in the United Kingdom for some 13 years. He has no passport in his possession and would appear to be in the UK unlawfully. The claimant is blind, cognitively impaired and unable adequately to care for himself. He is described by a psychiatrist who reported on 28 March 2013 as a person performing at the level of a dementia sufferer. Hackney Council declined to provide the claimant with accommodation and support under s.21 of the National Assistance Act 1948, although under an order made on an interim basis by Lang J, temporary assistance is being given.
The official solicitor acts for the claimant in his claim for judicial review brought against the Council in other proceedings. The level of assistance for which the claimant is eligible may depend upon the claimant's immigration status. For the purpose of regularising the claimant's immigration status he first requires advice as to the grounds upon which he can apply for leave to remain. The official solicitor is not in a position to provide that advice nor is he in a position to fund advice provided by a solicitor authorised for that purpose under s.84 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. For this reason, the official solicitor sought legal aid for the claimant in order that he could make the appropriate application to the Home Office. As is implied by this summary of the background the application would not be made with a view to litigation but with a view to the making of an administrative decision by or on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Home Department.
The claimant is represented in these proceedings by the Public Law Project (PLP). His case was at this time being handled by Mr Ravi Low-Beer, whose statement we have, dated 9 December 2013. From the limited information available to PLP it was considered that the claimant's application for leave to remain was best founded on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. For that reason, it was concluded that the claimant would not qualify for l