Application To High Court For Reconsideration Of Permission At An Oral Hearing

If your paper application for permission to proceed with the Judicial Review in High Court has been refused by the High Court judge, you have 7 days to file an application for decision to refuse permission to be reconsidered at an oral hearing.

Oral Permission Hearing (OPH)

At an Oral Permission Hearing (OPH) the claimant (normally via their legal representatives) before a single High Court judge will explain why they should be granted permission and the Home Office, UKVI will be given an opportunity to explain why permission should not be granted. The Home Office will instruct a barrister (counsel) to argue why permission should be refused. The High Court will then decide whether permission should be granted. A claim that is certified as being ‘totally without merit’ cannot renew to an Oral Permission Hearing (OPH).

Rolled Up Hearing

Sometimes an Oral Permission Hearing (OPH) is heard at the same time as the substantive hearing and this is called a rolled up hearing. This is more likely to happen where one party has made an application for the case to be expedited (i.e. heard sooner). A rolled up hearing has the advantage of getting the matter dealt with quickly and in practice is cheaper than the two stage process. At a rolled up hearing the judge will decide whether to grant permission as well as deciding the outcome of the judicial review if permission is granted.

Decision On Permission Application

If permission to proceed with Judicial Review is granted, the matter will proceed to substantive JR hearing. If permission is refused, the Counsel for the Applicant can seek permission from the High Court to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the decision of the High Court to refuse permission to proceed with the Judicial Review.

Legal Costs If Your Application Is Unsuccessful

The general rule is that the party losing a substantive claim for judicial review will be ordered to pay the costs of the other parties. However, the Judge considering the matter has discretion to deal with the issue of costs as he/she considers appropriate in all of the circumstances. Costs may be awarded in respect of an unsuccessful paper application. Any application by the defendant/interested party for costs will normally be made in the Acknowledgment of Service.

Appeal Against The Refusal Of Permission To Apply For Judicial Review

If the High Court refuses your application for permission to apply for Judicial Review (JR), your legal representative can orally apply to the High Court for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the decision of the High Court to refuse permission. In most cases, such oral request is also refused by the High Court which leaves the Applicant with the option of applying to the Court of Appeal itself for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision of the High Court.

How Can We Help?

As specialist immigration JR solicitors, we can represent you in your application for renewal of permission for Judicial Review (JR) at an oral hearing. If instructed to represent you regarding renewal of permission for JR at an oral hearing, the immigration casework to be carried out by our immigration solicitors may include the following:

  • Taking detailed instructions from you and advising you about the relevant immigration laws and procedures to be adopted by the High Court in dealing with your application for renewal of permission for JR at an oral hearing
  • Discussing the decision of the High Court judge who decided the permission application on papers and advising you about the weaknesses and strengths of your application for permission for Judicial Review
  • Instructing a Barrister for grounds in support of the application for renewal of permission application at an oral hearing
  • Preparing and filing an application for renewal of permission at oral hearing
  • Preparing Brief to Counsel and instructing the Counsel for you to be represented at the High Court for your renewal of permission at an oral hearing before the High Court judge
  • Keeping you informed about the progress of your application for oral permission hearing (OPH)
  • Liaising with the High Court and the Government Legal Department (GLD) in relation to your application for oral permission hearing (OPH)
  • Doing all the follow up work until decision is reached by the High Court judge on your application for oral permission hearing (OPH)
  • Advising you on further actions to be taken following receipt of the decision of the High Court on your oral permission hearing

How Much We Charge?

Unless your matter is very complicated, our fees for our professional services for an application to the High Court for permission to apply for Judicial Review are as given in the fee table below:

Our Service Fixed Fee Range Hourly Rate
Full representations to cover all our work on your application to the High Court for reconsidertion of permission for Judicial Review at an oral hearing £1000 + VAT to £3000 + VAT £150 + VAT to £350 + VAT per hour

The agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of the application and the volume of casework involved in the application. In addition to our fixed fee, the applicant will also have to pay the court fee for Judicial Review and the Barrister’s fee for advocacy work before the High Court Judge.

No Win No Fee

We can also act for you on no win no fee basis in relation to your application to the High Court for reconsideration of permission for Judicial Review at an oral hearing if we find that the chances of success in your application are 100%. The fee to be charged on No Win No Fee basis will depend on the complexity of the case and chances of success in the case. If your application for reconsiderataion of permission for Judicial Review at an oral hearing is unsuccessful, you will not have to pay our fees for our professional services.