9 Case law

Asylum and Immigration Tribunals, court judgments, provides precedent, which also plays a role in developing immigration law. These are beyond the remit of the course, but are covered in training for immigration advisers. If you wish to learn more about their work, please see the links at the end of this session.

Some primary legislation contains a section that defines the meaning of key words and phrases used within it. This section of the legislation can be identified by the word ‘interpretation’. However, there are circumstances where the meaning of words in primary and secondary legislation is unclear, or challenged. If this happens, a court or tribunal can be asked to decide on the meaning of the words.

When providing advice, an immigration adviser will check whether there has been a dispute over the interpretation of a word or phrase. If there has been a dispute, they will check the outcome. Keeping up-to-date and being able to find and identify the correct law are core competences for immigration advisers, and are covered by their training.