Huge jump in appeal fees could increase risk of return to torture

The Government has proposed an almost six-fold increase in the fees to appeal an asylum or immigration decision in courts in England and Wales. Those who could suffer include survivors of torture.

If the Home Office makes an incorrect decision on someone's asylum case, this can usually be appealed in court. The proposed fee increase – up from £140 to £800 for an oral hearing - seriously threatens access to justice by putting appeals beyond the reach of many.

In our experience, many survivors of torture seeking asylum in the UK are in no position to find such large sums of money. It means they may be unable to access their right to appeal a wrong decision, risking them being returned to countries where they face being tortured again.

The proposals will affect some torture survivors who, despite their vulnerability, do not qualify for legal aid because they are wrongly refused it on the merits of their case or because they are represented by private solicitors.

The ability for survivors of torture to appeal is of vital importance because they are often refused asylum when Home Office caseworkers make errors in decision-making on their claim. These errors, all of which are clearly contrary to Home Office policy, leave survivors of torture with no other recourse but to appeal.

The extent of the problem in Home Office decision making is reflected in our 2011 Body of Evidence report which shows appeal overturn rates at 69% for asylum claims where Freedom from Torture submitted a Medico-Legal Report at the initial decision stage. Our internal monitoring of a subset of more recent cases suggests that trend continues; with appeal overturn rates at a staggering 75%.

In our view, the Home Office should tackle this problem by ensuring Home Office decision-makers make the right decisions the first time around, instead of forcing the financial burden of challenging wrong decisions on survivors of torture and other vulnerable refugees who have been wrongly denied protection.

In their attempts to try to raise the money for the fees they can’t afford, torture survivors risk being forced into debt and destitution. Others may opt for a cheaper, simpler paper application, not realising that this may mean their case is considered much more superficially.

Access to justice will be seriously undermined as a result. It means some survivors of torture may be unable to have their right to appeal a wrong decision heard, risking them being returned to countries where they face further torture.

Want to find out more? Read our response to the Government’s consultation on this issue here.