# The Asylum Appeals (Procedure) Rules 1996, Article 23: Conduct of appeals


(1) The appellate authority may, subject to the provisions of these Rules, regulate the procedure to be followed at hearings.
(2) The overriding objective shall be to secure the just, timely and effective disposal of appeals and, in order to further that objective, the authority may give directions which control the preparation for, and conduct of, any hearing.
(3) The authority may, after receiving a notice of appeal, give directions under this rule orally or in writing and notice of any written directions so given shall be served on all parties to the appeal.
(4) Directions given under this rule may —
(a) relate to any matter concerning the preparation for a hearing and, in particular, may specify the length of time allowed for anything to be done;
(b) specify the place at which the appeal shall be heard;
(c) in particular, provide for —
(i) a particular matter to be dealt with as a preliminary issue;
(ii) a pre-hearing review to be held;
(iii) the furnishing of any particulars which appear to be requisite for the determination of the appeal;
(d) require any party to the appeal to file —
(i) statements of the evidence which will be called at the hearing specifying in what respect the services of an interpreter will be required;
(ii) a paginated and indexed bundle of all the documents which will be relied on at the hearing;
(iii) a skeleton argument which summarises succinctly the submissions which will be made at the hearing and cites all the authorities which will be relied on identifying any particular passages to be relied on;
(iv) an estimate of the time which will be needed for the hearing of the appeal;
(v) a list of the witnesses who will be called to give evidence;
(vi) a chronology of events;
(e) limit
(i) the number or length of documents produced by, for example, requiring the appellant to specify to the respondent the passage or part of any document on which he will rely, especially if the document has to be translated into English for the hearing;
(ii) the length of oral submissions;
(iii) the time allowed for the examination and cross examination of witnesses by, for example, allowing a witness statement to stand as evidence in chief;
(iv) the issues which will be addressed at the hearing;
(f) facilitate the holding of combined hearings under rule 34.
(5) The appellant and the respondent shall provide to every other party to the appeal a copy of any document which he is directed to file under paragraph (4).
(6) Directions shall be given under this rule in an appeal in which the appellant is unrepresented only where the appellate authority is satisfied that the appellant will be able to comply with the directions.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/2070/article/23 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/asylum-appeals-procedure-rules-1996/article-23
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.