Member

What the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Hale, said in the case of age assessment was that the age of the individual was a question of precedent fact, and so it should be determined by the consideration of evidence, which is incredibly rare in the Administrative Court. Because it was set by the Supreme Court, that is still the law. What happens today is that, if somebody seeks to challenge a decision of the National Age Assessment Board, they go to the Administrative Court, which, in accordance with the practice direction, transfers it to the Upper Tribunal, and it goes off for oral and expert evidence, at enormous expense. So the Upper Tribunal judges have to listen to the evidence and then evaluate for themselves what the age is.