Asylum & Immigration Tribunal: Case Management Review (CMR) Project
Andrew Cox, CMR Project Manager at the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, talks to Adjust about a new pilot case management review project.
In 2006, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal published the AIT Review Report (pdf), the result of nine months of research into whether the tribunal was realising the intended benefits that unification of the appeals system was intended to bring. Amongst its recommendations was that the tribunal investigate alternative ways of dealing with appeals prior to the substantive hearing.
The CMR project is piloting two initiatives, a Pre Hearing Review (PHR) and the conduct of the Case Management Review Hearing (for asylum appeals) by phone (PCMR).
PHR is being piloted at two AIT hearing centres, Hatton Cross and Newport, and involves the issue of a Reply Notice to the appellant (and their representative if they have one) which contains a number of questions regarding their appeal. It is intended that this, together with a brief paper bases review conducted by an Immigration Judge, will result in the identification and, where possible, the resolution of issues prior to the Substantive Hearing. If this process proves beneficial, the tribunal would expect to see benefits at the substantive hearing, for example through a reduction in at hearing adjournments or a shortening of the length of hearing. The pilot will have an interim assessment of in country appeals in January and a full assessment is expected to take place in June 2008.
PCMR is being piloted at AIT Stoke, where for a period of three months all asylum cases where the appellant is represented have had their CMR conducted by telephone. Both the appellant and respondent representatives conduct the CMR by phone. As the CMR could take place in chambers rather than occupying a court, an anticipated benefit is the freeing up of court space for other hearings, and a reduction in costs for those representing the appellant and respondent. The pilot phase of the project was completed at the end of October and an assessment is being prepared for the end of November.
Link: AIT website