Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has tabled amendments which will change the rules for judicial review in asylum cases. The relevant provisions in the Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014 are aimed at reducing waiting times for final decisions in judicial review cases. Among the changes are an extension of the amount of time to appeal decisions, and an increased focus on ex parte hearings.
Under current court rules, an application for leave to apply for judicial review shall be made by motion on notice to other parties and leave shall not be granted unless the High Court is satisfied that there are “substantial grounds” for contending the decision. The amendment to section 5 of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 will have the same “substantial grounds” standard. The time an applicant has to apply for judicial review after notification of a final decision on their case has been made, will increase from 14 days to 28 days. The amendment will also remove the “on-notice motion” requirement. The default would now be for ex parte applications, and where the case involves a point of law of exceptional public importance or where it is in the interests of justice for the named parties, the High Court may direct the application be put on notice to other parties or adjourn the application.
The proposals were presented by Minister Bruton, on behalf of the Minister for Justice. In explaining the changes Minister Bruton said that it would not infringe on the rights of those concerned as it would be the State which is not getting notification in ex parte proceedings. “It simply means that the State will not be obliged to turn up, with all the attendant legal costs of turning up to an ex parte hearing.”
Currently, asylum-related applications represent 40% of all judicial review applications. The average waiting time for the High Court in asylum cases is 30 months for pre-leave applications and 4 months for post-leave, according to the Courts Service. It is hoped that the changes will reduce the waiting times for applicants waiting on a final decision and reduce amount of time spent in State-provided direct provision accommodation.
Click here to read a draft of the Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014.