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AM (Somalia) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department
Factual and Procedural Background
This opinion concerns an appeal by the Appellant against the decision of the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) dated 12 July 2016, which dismissed the Appellant's appeal against the First Tier Tribunal's decision dated 29 January 2016. Both tribunals upheld the Respondent Secretary of State's decision to revoke the Appellant's refugee status and order his deportation following a series of criminal convictions, the latest resulting in a two-year imprisonment sentence.
The appeal raises two main issues: whether the First Tier Tribunal's refusal to adjourn the hearing pending service of an Offender Assessment System ("OASys") report was unfair and unlawful, and whether the tribunal was entitled to find that the Appellant was not socially and culturally integrated in the UK for the purposes of resisting deportation under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights ("ECHR").
The Appellant, born in Somaliland, entered the UK as a child and lived there for over 30 years, during which time he was granted asylum and indefinite leave to remain. He had a family and employment history in the UK but later separated from his wife and lost contact with his children. Subsequently, he developed an alcohol addiction and amassed 27 criminal convictions over 13 years, mostly related to offences committed under the influence of alcohol.
The Respondent notified the Appellant of liability to deportation due to his particularly serious crime and danger to the community. The Appellant's refugee status was revoked on the basis that the circumstances justifying his refugee status had ceased to exist. The deportation order was issued, and the Appellant appealed the decisions.
The First Tier Tribunal refused the Appellant's application for an adjournment to await the OASys report, finding the application late and speculative. It dismissed the appeals against revocation of refugee status and deportation, concluding that the Appellant was a foreign criminal subject to automatic deportation and that none of the statutory exceptions applied, including the exception based on social and cultural integration and significant obstacles to integration in the country of deportation.
The Upper Tribunal granted permission to appeal but ultimately dismissed the appeal, upholding the First Tier Tribunal’s reasoning on the adjournment refusal and the integration findings. The Court of Appeal granted permission to appeal on two grounds: alleged procedural unfairness in refusal of adjournment and the finding that the Appellant was not socially and culturally integrated in the UK.
Legal Issues Presented
- Whether the First Tier Tribunal's refusal to grant an adjournment pending service of the OASys report was procedurally unfair and unlawful.
- Whether the First Tier Tribunal was entitled to find that the Appellant was not socially and culturally integrated in the UK for the purposes of resisting deportation under Article 8 of the ECHR.
Arguments of the Parties
Appellant's Arguments
- The refusal to adjourn was unfair because the OASys report was critical evidence capable of affecting the appeal outcome, particularly regarding rebutting the statutory presumption that the Appellant was a danger to the community.
- The Respondent was at fault for failing to produce the OASys report as ordered, and it was unfair to penalize the Appellant for the Respondent’s non-compliance.
- The First Tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal erred in finding the Appellant was not socially and culturally integrated in the UK despite his long residence, family life, employment history, and efforts at reform, including during imprisonment.
- The tribunals failed to properly apply the Immigration Rules and statutory provisions, and did not conduct a holistic Article 8 assessment as required by national and Strasbourg case law.
Respondent's Arguments
- There was no procedural unfairness in refusing the adjournment; the First Tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal correctly concluded that the OASys report was unlikely to assist the Appellant’s case.
- The Respondent was initially prohibited from disclosing the full OASys report but later internal policy allowed disclosure upon request; the failure to produce the report was due to administrative oversight.
- The full OASys report and other risk assessments indicated the Appellant posed a medium risk of harm to the public and qualified for the highest level of Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements.
- The Appellant’s persistent offending, estrangement from family, loss of social ties, and lack of meaningful integration justified the tribunals’ findings that he was not socially and culturally integrated in the UK.
- The Appellant would not face very significant obstacles to integration in Somaliland, thus failing the requirements of the relevant statutory exceptions to deportation.
Table of Precedents Cited
| Precedent | Rule or Principle Cited For | Application by the Court |
|---|---|---|
| SH (Afghanistan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] EWCA Civ 1284 | Test for procedural unfairness in refusal of adjournment and disclosure obligations. | The Court applied this authority to assess whether the refusal to adjourn pending the OASys report was unfair, concluding it was not. |
| Mugagwa v SSHD [2011] UKUT 338 | Importance of OASys report in rebutting statutory presumption of danger to the community. | The Court held Mugagwa was an illustration of circumstances where an OASys report mattered but not a binding rule requiring disclosure in all cases. |
| Bossade v SSHD [2015] UKUT 415 (IAC) | Qualitative test for social and cultural integration; effect of offending on integration. | The Court relied on Bossade to support the proposition that serious and persistent offending can break continuity of integration. |
| NA (Pakistan) v SSHD [2016] EWCA Civ 662 | Holistic Article 8 assessment beyond Immigration Rules. | The Court considered the relationship between Immigration Rules and Article 8 but found no error in the tribunals’ approach in the present case. |
| Hesham Ali v SSHD [2016] UKSC 60 | Weight to be given to public interest in deportation and assessment of exceptional/very compelling circumstances under Article 8. | The Court applied the principles from Hesham Ali regarding the balancing exercise and gave due weight to the Secretary of State’s assessment. |
| Rhuppiah v SSHD [2018] UKSC 58 | Importance of section 117A(2) NIAA 2002 in holistic Article 8 assessment. | The Court noted the relevance of this authority but concluded it did not prevent the tribunals’ conclusions in this case. |
| Akinyemi v SSHD [2017] EWCA Civ 236 | Presence from a young age is not a trump card against serious offending breaking integration. | The Court agreed that persistent criminal offending outweighs long residence in assessing integration. |
| MF (Nigeria) v SSHD [2013] EWCA Civ 1192 | Interpretation of "exceptional circumstances" and proportionality in Article 8 balancing. | The Court applied this to confirm the high threshold for rebutting the public interest in deportation. |
| Huang v SSHD [2007] 2 AC 167 | Appellate decision-making and the role of Immigration Rules in Article 8 claims. | The Court followed Huang to emphasize that the Rules are relevant but not determinative, and the tribunal must make its own proportionality assessment. |
| MN-T (Columbia) v SSHD [2016] EWCA Civ 893 | Weight of family ties in integration assessment. | The Court cited this to support the finding that estrangement from family undermines integration claims. |
| AH (Jamaica) v SSHD [2017] EWCA Civ 796 | Family ties and their role in social and cultural integration. | Supported the tribunals’ assessment that lack of meaningful family life reduces integration. |
| Sagnata Investments Ltd v Norwich Corpn [1971] 2 QB 614 | Deference to reasons of primary decision-maker in appellate review. | The Court applied this principle to give weight to Secretary of State’s assessments in deportation decisions. |
| R (Hope & Glory Public House Ltd) v City of Westminster Magistrates' Court [2011] PTSR 868 | Appellate weight to reasons of decision-maker. | Emphasized the need for appellate tribunals to carefully consider reasons given by the primary decision-maker. |
Court's Reasoning and Analysis
The Court analysed the refusal of adjournment primarily on the basis of procedural fairness. It accepted that while the Respondent failed to comply with the direction to produce the full OASys report, the Appellant was partly responsible for the late request and failure to produce other related documents such as the Pre-Sentence Report. The Court found that the risk assessment provided was indicative of the OASys report’s likely content, which did not support the Appellant’s contention of reform or rebuttal of the statutory presumption of danger to the community.
The Court noted that the case of Mugagwa was not a general rule requiring OASys reports in all cases but an example where such a report made a difference. Given the material before the tribunals, including sentencing remarks and risk assessments, the refusal to adjourn was not unfair.
Regarding social and cultural integration, the Court applied a qualitative test, considering the Appellant’s long history of offending, estrangement from family, homelessness, unemployment, and lack of social ties. It concluded that these factors broke any continuity of integration despite the Appellant’s long residence and earlier integration in the UK.
The Court rejected the Appellant’s argument that the tribunals failed to conduct a holistic Article 8 assessment. It applied leading authorities emphasizing that the Immigration Rules are relevant but not determinative, and that only very compelling circumstances would outweigh the public interest in deportation of foreign criminals. The Court found no such circumstances here.
The Court also confirmed that the Appellant would not face very significant obstacles to integration in Somaliland, fulfilling a further requirement of the statutory exceptions, and thus the exceptions to automatic deportation did not apply.
Holding and Implications
The Court's final decision is to DISMISS THE APPEAL.
The direct effect is that the Appellant's appeal against deportation and revocation of refugee status is dismissed, affirming the decisions of the First Tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal. The Court found no procedural unfairness in the refusal of adjournment and upheld the finding that the Appellant was not socially and culturally integrated in the UK. The statutory exceptions to deportation do not apply.
No new legal precedent was established beyond the application and confirmation of existing principles regarding procedural fairness, social and cultural integration, and Article 8 balancing in deportation cases involving foreign criminals.
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