JUDGES are set to be replaced by adjudicators as part of a Home Office bid to "fast-track" asylum claims.
It is part of a bid by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to speed up the process of moving asylum seekers out of hotels after a slate of aggressive protests held across the country, according to reports from the i Newspaper.
Cooper said “completely unacceptable” delays had left those whose asylum claims had been rejected in the system for years.
An estimated 51,000 appeals are still waiting to be heard, with decisions taking around a year or more to be made.
To speed up the process – with court delays being blamed as the biggest cause of backlogs – the UK Government will introduce an independent panel formed of professionally trained adjudicators, rather than court judges.
As reported by the Sunday Times, the new body will be granted statutory powers to prioritise cases of those housed in temporary hotel accommodation and offenders who have received deportation notices.
Ministers have expressed frustration that some first-tier tribunal judges are overturning asylum refusals by drawing on protections enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights – particularly Article 8, the right to family life.
Under the proposed reforms, these tribunals could ultimately be replaced by a newly created independent commission, raising concerns about the erosion of judicial oversight in sensitive human rights cases.
Further details on reforms to the asylum system will be set out in autumn and will draw from more successful European models, including some which have independent appeals bodies like the one being proposed for the UK.
Cooper claims reforms will create a “swift, fair and independent” system, with “high standards in place”.
“We inherited an asylum system in complete chaos with a soaring backlog of asylum cases and a broken appeals system with thousands of people in the system for years on end”, she said.
“That is why we are taking practical steps to fix the foundations and restore control and order to the system.
“We are determined to substantially reduce the number of people in the asylum system as part of our plan to end asylum hotels.”
It comes after continued protests held outside of hotels housing asylum seekers, including one outside of a Perth hotel on Saturday.
Anti-racist activists claimed victory over those who had gathered in front of the Radisson Blu holding signs reading “Perth is full, empty the hotels” and “stop importing, start deporting”.
Further protests took place in England, with 11 arrests made in Liverpool during a demonstration organised by Ukip, which was also met by a counter-protest.
Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction from the High Court on Tuesday to remove asylum seekers from the Bell starting from September 12.
The Scottish Government has criticised the current rhetoric surrounding asylum seekers and refugees in recent months, with former first minister Humza Yousaf warning people not to fall for the “oldest populist trick in the book”.
“This isn't just rhetoric. We've seen exactly where it leads. It turns fear into mobs who are ready to set fire to hotels that are housing asylum seekers. It leads to bricks through windows, it leads to firebombs aimed at vulnerable families who've already fled war and persecution,” Yousaf said on Wednesday.
