Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the United Kingdom is bound by European Union or international law to provide an opportunity for appeal to those whose asylum applications are rejected at first hearing.

European law requires that a person whose claim for asylum is refused by the Secretary of State should have the right to challenge that decision via an effective remedy. In the UK that remedy is provided by either an appeal right or judicial review depending on the circumstances. There is no specific requirement, either in European or international law, to provide asylum applicants with an onward right of appeal if the rejection of their asylum claim is upheld at a first hearing.