Immigration and Asylum Law Sub-Committee

The Law Society of Scotland considered the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill and made a number of comments to the House of Lords, in the form of suggested amendments.

 

The Immigration and Asylum Law sub-committee noted that the Bill transfers asylum and immigration appeals away from the Court of Session to the Upper Tribunal. The Sub-Committee raised concerns that this proposal would pre-empt the civil justice review conducted by Lord Gill, as well as the Scottish Administrative Justice Steer Group’s final report.

 

The Sub-Committee was also concerned about the provision in the Bill which allows the Secretary of State to designate an immigration officer or any other official of the Secretary of State’s department as a general customs official. Immigration officers and other officials designated under this section would need a high level of training, competence, and familiarity with tax law in order to fulfil their duties. The Sub-Committee suggested that regulations may be necessary to ensure that any designated officials received appropriate education and training.

 

In addition, the Society suggested an amendment to ensure that legal professional privilege was protected when customs information was disclosed.