Good Character Requirement - New Policy

Hi,

How does the recent judgement of Mrs Justice Lang in the case between Hiri Poloko vs The Home Office impact the current Good Character Requirement of British Immigartion and Nationality Laws?

Considering the precedent that has been set by this judgement....

Is there any possibility that we should be expecting changes in the current set of rules and requirement?

How long would it take for a new set of rules to be in place?

thanks

Blue

I just read the ruling and he got decision in his favor because he served in British Army in past.
I don't think rules will be changed and it will still be HO discretion to consider speeding points or not. In most cases they will not if it's recent.

I think there are several aspects of the case that you are missing.... most importantly the fact that the case states that the Home Office should have considered references from his "Employer"..... at no point does the 17 page judgement make any reference to the fact that judgement was given due to his prior service with the British Army

Clearly, according to the judge “This was not an adequate assessment of the claimant's character, as required by law. No references were sought from his employer, or his personal referees, and there was no interview with the claimant."

She said that "There has to be a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's character, as an individual, which involves an exercise of judgment, not just ticking boxes on a form,"

Furthermore, she also addedd that "Plainly, criminal convictions are relevant to the assessment of character, but they are likely to vary greatly in significance, depending upon the nature of the offence and the length of time which has elapsed since its commission, as well as any pattern of repeat offending."

Finally she added that: "The defendant is entitled to adopt a policy on the way in which criminal convictions will normally be considered by her caseworkers, but it should not be applied mechanistically and inflexibly.

Several elements of this judgement contradict the Good Character Requirements as it stands, unless Good Character Requirements will be defined differently for every member of society then the current rules will have to be meticulously modified to ensure that it is not "applied mechanistically and inflexibly"

My thoughts

blue