R (on the application of Kigen) v Secretary of State for the Home Department

Citation

C2/2015/0695 Court of Appeal

A successful appeal of the refusal of an extension of time to renew an application for permission for judicial review. The case is important for the guidance given on such applications in the light of R (Hysaj) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2014] EWCA Civ 1633.

The Court applied the three stages set out in Hysaj. In the instant case, the delay was significant in view of the tight timetable for renewing a permission application. The reason for the delay was that the Appellant’s certificate for legal aid had not been extended by the Legal Aid Agency in time. This was not considered a good reason in this case because the Appellant could have submitted his renewal application as a litigant in person without the need for further submissions, and he could have applied for a fee waiver. However, when one looked at all the circumstances in the third stage of the analysis, it was in the interests of justice to extend time.

It should be noted that the Court did not hold that delays relating to public funding could never be a good reason for extending time, but it was not a good reason where the assisted party could reasonably take the required step without funding in place.

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