Bhatt Murphy is a London based solicitors’ firm specialising in the protection of civil liberties. Its web site includes a number of timelines, setting out major events in a number of areas, with links to relevant legislation and case law. Subjects covered include: public law, police misconduct, prisoners’ rights, immigration detention and migrant rights, deaths in custody, European Court of Human Rights and public inquiries.
EIN is primarily a subscription service, providing within its members’ area information and materials on immigration, asylum and nationality law and practice in the UK for immigration law practitioners and advisors. The Case Law database includes full text or summaries of Immigration Tribunal determinations, Asylum Support decisions, and selected key judgments of cases in the higher English courts and other jurisdictions. Other databases include Legislation and a Members Resources Database, which includes extensive links to relevant documents and organisations. There is also a free Resources Database for non-members, aimed more broadly at anyone seeking information on immigration, asylum or refugee issues in the UK and Europe.
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, created on 1 July 2010, has two main areas of focus: European security and European migration policy. Policy sections on its web site include: Legal Migration and Integration; Common European Asylum System; Schengen, Borders & Visas; Organised Crime & Human Trafficking; and Police Cooperation. In these and other sections of the site there are links to legislation. All relevant documents including legislation are searchable within the Documents section of the site’s “e-Library”.
The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) is a Brussels-based “pan-European alliance”, with more than 100 member organisations in over 40 countries, which works to protect and advance the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons. Policy and research papers are arranged by topic. The site also includes annual reports, weekly bulletins, news and press releases.
The European Country of Origin Information Network (also known as ecoi.net) is based in Vienna at the Austrian Red Cross. It provides a collection of country resources aimed at the needs of asylum lawyers, refugee organisations and those seeking asylum. The 300,000+ documents on the site relate to over 160 countries and include research papers, news articles, position papers, expert opinions, press releases and national laws. The selection of content focuses on the countries from which most asylum applicants in Europe originate.
The European Database of Asylum Law (EDAL) contains case law from over 20 EU member states interpreting refugee and asylum law, as well as from the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. It comprises case summaries with links to and/or PDFs of original judgments where available. Additional site sections include Legislation (national, European and international), Country Overview (outlining national asylum systems), Documentation (eg from the UNHCR, Council of Europe etc) and a blog (“Journal”). The database is managed by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE). The site is in English only, though database content is searchable in both English and the original language of the decision.
The First-tier Tribunal (Asylum Support) considers appeals by asylum seekers against refusal or termination of support by the Home Office. It has formed part of the First-tier Tribunal’s Social Entitlement Chamber since 3 November 2008, having been first established in April 2000 as the Asylum Support Adjudicators. Information available from this page of the GOV.UK web site includes forms and guidance, procedural rules, and Statements of Reasons (Decisions) 2001 onwards.
The First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) deals with appeals against decisions made by the Home Office in immigration, asylum and nationality matters. It was established on 15 February 2010 when it replaced, along with the new Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), the former Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. This section of the GOV.UK site has information about appeal procedures and includes links to forms and guidance, daily court lists, procedural rules and legislation.
The ILPA was set up in 1984 to promote and improve the advising and representation of immigrants. This site includes details of publications, a membership directory, submissions to the UK and EU parliaments and useful links.
The Immigration Rules as currently in force are accessible here on the GOV.UK web site, together with archived consolidated versions back to 2012, and individual Statements of Changes back to 1994.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is an inter-governmental organisation with over 170 member states which works with migrants and governments to provide humane responses to migration challenges. The site includes links to regional IOM web sites, recent publications and press announcements. The site’s Migration Law Database is a database of norms and instruments regulating migration at international, regional and national levels.
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) is an independent national voluntary organisation which campaigns for justice in UK immigration and asylum law and policy. Site content includes news of recent developments in immigration law and links to relevant UK and European documents, including legislation.
The Migration Policy Group (MPG) is an independent organisation, established in 1995 and based in Brussels, which is committed to policy development on integration, migration and anti-discrimination. Its web site provides information on MPG’s programmes of work in those areas. Publications include issues of various equality and anti-discrimination law reviews published by the European Commission, including the current bi-annual European Equality Law Review.
This is an academic network for legal studies on asylum and immigration in Europe. It brings together experts from the European Union to analyse the legislation of EU member states in the areas of migration and asylum. Its site has details of current research, and a blog from 2015 onwards on EU immigration and asylum law and policy.
The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) regulates those immigration advisers in the UK who are not members of professional bodies such as the Law Society and the General Council of the Bar. Content in this section of the GOV.UK site includes guidance, practice notes, the Code of Standards, the complaint scheme, annual reports and newsletters.
The Refugee Law Reader: Cases, Documents and Materials (7th edition, 2014), published by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, is intended to serve as a “model curriculum” for the study of international refugee law. Aimed at professors, lawyers, advocates and students, the Reader contains over 1500 documents and materials. Materials include key legal texts, instruments and academic commentary.
The UN Refugee Agency’s Refworld web site provides information necessary for taking decisions on refugee status. The site includes reports on country status; a legal documents collection, including legislation and case law; and thematic reports. Documents can be browsed by topic, publisher or document type.
This research guide by Colin Fong, an Australian academic and former librarian, was first published on the GlobaLex legal research web site in November 2007 and was last updated in February 2016. It is intended to assist researchers in finding legal information on asylum seekers and refugees in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union, highlighting useful print and online sources.
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), which is a superior court of record, deals with appeals from certain immigration decisions of the Home Secretary where international terrorism, national security or other matters of public interest are involved. The site has cause lists, forms and guidance, and links to legislation. There are also links to “Outcomes” databases on the Tribunals Judiciary web site.
UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) was created on 31 March 2013 when the former UK Border Agency was split into two new entities (the other being Immigration Enforcement) sitting within the Home Office. Content in this section of the GOV.UK web site includes the Immigration Rules and operational guidance such as the Immigration Directorate Instructions, Nationality Instructions, Entry Clearance Guidance, and Enforcement Instructions and Guidance.
Formerly known as country information and guidance reports, these are the guidance documents which are used by officials of UK Visas and Immigration when making decisions in asylum and human rights applications. They cover more than 40 countries.
UNHCR is the UN agency responsible for safeguarding the rights and well-being of refugees. Its web site provides detailed information, news, online documents and statistics. The site’s “Refworld” provides a searchable database of online country information, legal information, policy documents and reference documents.
The Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) (UTIAC) is a superior court of record which deals with appeals against decisions made by the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). It was established 15 February 2010 when, along with the new First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), it replaced the former Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT). This section of the GOV.UK site provides information on appeals to UTIAC and includes links to the court lists of UTIAC hearing centres; forms and guidance; practice statements and practice directions; procedural rules; legislation; and UTIAC/AIT decisions 2000 onwards.
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