Human Rights and Asylum

 

Gherson Solicitors LLP have a renowned track record in succeeding in some of the most complex immigration cases ever dealt with by the Home Office or the Courts. We have unrivalled experience in assisting with complex human rights, asylum and international protection claims in many other jurisdictions. We have intervened and assisted in such cases in many different countries, including Cyprus, Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Monaco.

We regularly handle domestic and international extradition and civil litigation proceedings, alongside domestic human rights and/or refugee claims, as well as applications to international courts and tribunals, all under one roof.

We understand how to best handle the different issues you will face when forced into a position to claim asylum, and we will guide you through the issues that arise along the process.

We regularly and successfully assist in complex applications that engage human rights, whether at the initial application stage or on appeal. Our successes include challenging decisions based on long residence in the UK, family life in the UK and the need for continuing medical treatment in the UK, amongst other circumstances.

We understand how important it is for individuals to be involved in their own case, and will accompany you at every stage of your matter in order to ensure that you and your family have your say as to how your case is run. We offer a comprehensive service for those who are seeking safety in the UK, and we have extensive experience of litigating judicial review cases and appeals when applications have been wrongly refused or rejected.

Asylum

We aim to provide the very best service to our clients and to advise them on the entire range of options open to them, whether this is an application for refugee status under the 1951 Convention on Refugees, an application for protection on humanitarian grounds, or an appeal against the refusal of a claim at first instance. We understand the need to put the client first and to bring all to bear in order to uphold their rights.

The team, headed by Charles Burnett, has particular expertise in obtaining grants of asylum in the UK and abroad, in some of the most difficult, atypical and politically sensitive cases.

We work closely alongside internationally renowned Counsel to ensure that our clients’ claims are always prepared and pursued to the highest possible standard. We always make sure that every avenue for protection is explored and scrutinised.

Challenging a decision

There are broadly three ways to challenge a decision from the Home Office: through main administrative review, appeal or judicial review.

Administrative review

If you are provided the opportunity to challenge a decision by way of Administrative Review, it is best to seek expert legal advice. It is a process by which a refused immigration application (or grant if you are unhappy with the amount or conditions of your leave) can be challenged on the basis that the decision is incorrect due to a case working error.

This may include scenarios where:

  • The evidence was not properly considered when the application was submitted;
  • The immigration Rules were not applied correctly;
  • There was a mistake in processing the application; or
  • It is conducted by a separate team that is independent from the original decision maker.

We have ample experience in submitting administrative reviews and have obtained numerous outcomes where decisions were overturned by the Home Office.

Judicial Review

If you would like to proceed with a judicial review, it is imperative that the admissibility rules are strictly complied with. This type of court proceeding involves a judge reviewing the lawfulness of a decision in your asylum, immigration or human rights application.

An application for judicial review should be made as soon as is reasonably possible. Judicial review can be extremely complicated and thus it is best to seek legal advice.

Gherson Solicitors LLP have unmatched experience in bringing judicial reviews against the Home Office and have successfully overturned countless decisions.

Immigration Appeal

If you are provided a right of appeal and decide to proceed, there will be a full hearing of a case on the facts in the First Tier Tribunal before a judge. The judge will be concerned with whether the Home Office made the right decision, including whether they made a correct factual assessment based on the materials provided in your application.

The process can be quite intimidating, fast paced and involved; seeking legal advice can help alleviate the stress and assist you in making the strongest possible immigration appeal.

Our values

Being in a position to advise and guide our clients through these complex claims ensures that they benefit both from consistency and confidentiality.

Consistency

A dedicated team under one roof will put together and adopt a global case strategy, which will ensure consistency between different teams and help to secure to the best possible outcome. In complex cases, expertise in one area of law alone is often not enough.

We regularly intervene in cases involving applications to INTERPOL, to the European Court of Human Rights, or to the General Court of Justice of the EU. A properly coordinated strategy and working closely as a team is crucial to a winning strategy.

Confidentiality

These cases often involve extremely sensitive issues for the client and witnesses. From our experience of dealing in complex cases, we are acutely sensitive to the need to ensure confidentiality in our work.

For more information about us and our Human Rights and Asylum services, please contact Charles Burnett or a member of the team.