In Briefing Paper No 8.43, issued in July 2010, I commented on the case of Pankina v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] EWCA Civ.719, decided by the Court of Appeal. The principle enunciated in that case is that changes in the law, in particular to detailed provisions in the Immigration Rules, must be made in proper legal fashion and not by administrative fiat of the Home Secretary. The Court of Appeal’s decision has been followed in other cases and has now been endorsed by the Supreme Court in Alvi (Respondent) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department (Appellant) [2012] UKSC 33, decided on 18 July 2012. The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by the Secretary of State against a decision of the Court of Appeal.
To see the full Briefing Paper No 8.65 click here