International Protection Act 2026
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Functions of Chief Appeals Officer | ||
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247. (1) The Chief Appeals Officer shall have the following functions: | ||
(a) to ensure that the functions of the Tribunal are performed efficiently; | ||
(b) to ensure that the business assigned to each Appeals Officer is disposed of as expeditiously as may be consistent with fairness and natural justice. | ||
(2) The Chief Appeals Officer may, with a view to promoting high professional standards, issue to the other Appeals Officers guidelines on— | ||
(a) the practical application and operation of the provisions of this Act or regulations made under this Act that relate to the functions of the Tribunal, | ||
(b) developments in the law relating to international protection, | ||
(c) without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs (a) and (b), the practical application and operation of section 191 (2) and developments in the law relating to Article 67(3) of the Asylum Procedures Regulation, and | ||
(d) without prejudice to a complete and fair examination of an appeal and in the interests of swift and fair procedures, the practical application and operation of section 197 . | ||
(3) The Chief Appeals Officer may— | ||
(a) request the Director to re-assign business from one Appeals Officer to a different Appeals Officer if, in the opinion of the Chief Appeals Officer, such re assignment is warranted by the inability or unwillingness to transact that business by the Appeals Officer to whom the business was originally assigned and such a request shall contain reasons for same, | ||
(b) require an Appeals Officer to prepare a report of his or her determination of each appeal within a period specified in the guidelines referred to in subsection (2), and | ||
(c) require an Appeals Officer to prepare a report on any aspect of the transaction of the business assigned to the Appeals Officer. | ||
(4) The Chief Appeals Officer shall accord priority to an appeal or a request to remain— | ||
(a) upon a request by the Minister under section 281 , | ||
(b) where the appeal or request is in respect of an application to which the asylum border procedure under Chapter 6 of Part 7 applied, or | ||
(c) when he or she is of the opinion that it is in the interests of justice to do so. | ||
(5) Without prejudice to section 243 (2)(b), the Chief Appeals Officer may from time to time convene a meeting with an Appeals Officer or Appeals Officers for the purpose of discussing matters relating to the transaction of the business assigned to the Officer or Officers, including, in particular, such matters as divergences in the transaction of business by the Officers. | ||
(6) The Chief Appeals Officer may make provision for training programmes for Appeals Officers. |