AHZ -v- Secretary of State for the Home Department (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Case number: AC-2023-LON-001492
(Formerly CO/1764/2023)

In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court

6 October 2023

Before:

Roger ter Haar KC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge

Between:

The King on the application of
AHZ

-v-

Secretary of State for the Home Department

Order

Notification of the Judge’s decision on the application for permission to apply for judicial review (CPR 54.11, 54.12)
Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant and the Acknowledgement of service filed by the Defendant
ORDER by Roger ter Haar KC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge

  1. The Claimant’s application for an anonymity order is granted under CPR r 39.2(4) and/or the general case management powers in CPR r. 3.1(2). The Claimant in this action shall have anonymity until further order. No report or publication of these proceedings shall directly or indirectly identify the Claimant. Pursuant to CPR r.5.4(c), a person not a party to the proceedings may obtain a copy of the statement of case, judgment or order of the court records, only if the statement of case, judgment or order from the court has been anonymised. In the case title, the Claimant’s name shall be replaced by the initials ‘AHZ’. Failure to comply with this direction could lead to contempt of Court proceedings.
  2. The Defendant’s application for an extension of time for service of the Acknowledgment of Service is granted.
  3. The Claimant’s application for permission to serve a Reply is refused.
  4. The application for permission to apply for judicial review on Ground 1 is refused but the application on Ground 2 is granted.
  5. The application is to be listed for 2 hours; the parties to provide a written time estimate within 7 days of service of this order if they disagree with this direction.

Observations

  1. Ground 1 appears to turn on a disputed issue of fact (as to what the Claimant said to the Salvation Army) and is not suitable for determination by way of judicial review. In any event the Defendant was entitled to rely upon the information before her.
  2. However, it seems to me arguable that she was put on notice of circumstances requiring further investigation but did not pursue such investigation: hence I grant permission on Ground 2.
  3. The delay in service of the AoS was minimal and caused no prejudice.
  4. The Reply is not necessary: there is no need to depart from the usual procedure.

Case Management Directions

  1. The Defendant and any other person served with the Claim Form who wishes to contest the claim or support it on additional grounds shall, within 35 days of the date of service of this Order, file and serve (a) Detailed Grounds for contesting the claim or supporting it on additional grounds, and (b) any written evidence that is to be relied on. For the avoidance of doubt, a party who has filed and served Summary Grounds pursuant to CPR 54.8 may comply with (a) above by filing and serving a document which states that those Summary Grounds shall stand as the Detailed Grounds required by CPR 54.14.
  2. Any application by the Claimant to serve evidence in reply shall be filed and served within 21 days of the date on which the Defendant serves evidence pursuant to 1(b) above.
  3. The parties shall agree the contents of the hearing bundle and must file it with the Court not less than 4 weeks before the date of the hearing of the judicial review. An electronic version of the bundle shall be prepared and lodged in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The parties shall, if requested by the Court lodge 2 hard-copy versions of the hearing bundle.
  4. The Claimant must file and serve a Skeleton Argument not less than 21 days before the date of the hearing of the judicial review.
  5. The Defendant and any Interested Party must file and serve a Skeleton Argument not less than 14 days before the date of the hearing of the judicial review.
  6. The parties shall agree the contents of a bundle containing the authorities to be referred to at the hearing. An electronic version of the bundle shall be prepared in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The parties shall if requested by the Court, prepare a hard-copy version of the authorities bundle. The electronic version of the bundle and if requested, the hard copy version of the bundle, shall be lodged with the Court not less than 3 days before the date of the hearing of the judicial review.
  7. If permission has been granted on some grounds but refused on others, the Claimant may request that the decision to refuse permission be reconsidered at a hearing by filing and serving a completed Form 86B within 7 days after the date this order is served on the Claimant. The reconsideration hearing will be fixed in due course. However, if all parties agree and time estimates for substantive hearing allow, the reconsideration hearing may take place immediately before the substantive hearing. The Administrative Court Office must be notified within 21 days of the service and filing of Form 86B if the parties agree to this course.