Case No. IP-2018-000045

) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2014] EWCA Civ 1633. He then provided a summary headed “The Correct Procedure” at paragraph 21 (the emphases in bold are mine; that in italics (as well as bold) is original): “[21] It is the experience of the court that the effect of the rules, as expounded in the authorities referred to above, is often not properly understood by would-be appellants. We think there is value in our summarising in this judgment the effect of those authorities and the procedure that ought to be followed in consequence by parties wishing to seek permission to appeal from the lower court (which is good practice though not mandatory). We would set the position out as follows: (1) The date of the decision for the purposes of CPR r 52.12 is the date of the hearing at which the decision is given, which may be ex tempore or by the formal hand down of a reserved judgment: see Sayers v Clarke and Owusu v Jackson . We call this the decision hearing. (2) A party who wishes to apply to the lower court for permission to appeal should normally do so at the decision hearing itself. In the case of a formal hand down where counsel have been excused from attendance that can be done by applying in writing prior to the hearing. The judge will usually be able to give his or her decision at the hearing, but there may be occasions where further submissions and/or time for reflection are required, in which case the permission decision may post-date the decision hearing. (3) If a party is not ready to make an application at the decision hearing it is necessary to ask for the hearing to be formally adjourned in order to give them more time to do so: see Jackson v Marina Homes . The judge, if he or she agrees to the adjournment, will no doubt set a timetable for written submissions and will normally decide the question on the papers without the need for a further hearing. As long as the decision hearing has been formally adjourned, any such application can be treated as having been made ‘at’ it for the purpose of CPR r 52.3(2)(a). We wish to say, however, that we do not believe that such adjournments should in the generality of cases be necessary. Where a reserved judgment has been pre-circulated in draft in sufficient time parties should normally be in a position to decide prior to the hand down hearing whether they wish to seek permission to appeal, and to formulate grounds and such supporting submissions as may be necessary; and that will often be so even where there has been an ex tempore judgment. Putting off the application will increase delay and create a risk of procedural complications. But we accept that it will nevertheless sometimes be justified. (4) If no permission application is made at the original decision hearing, and there has been no adjournment, the lower court is no longer seized of the matter and cannot consider any retrospective application for permission to appeal: see LisleMainwaring . (5) Whenever a party seeks an adjournment of the decision hearing as per (3) above they should also seek an extension of time for filing the appellant's notice, otherwise they risk running out of time before the permission decision is made. The 21 days continue to run from the decision date, and an adjournment of the decision hearing does not automatically extend time: see Hysaj . It is worth noting that an application by a party for more time to make a permission application is not the only situation where an extension of time for filing the appellant's notice may be required. It will be required in any situation where a permission decision is not made at the decision hearing. In particular, it may be that the judge wants more time to consider (see para (2) above): unless it is clear that he or she will give their decision comfortably within the 21 days an extension will be required so as to ensure that time does not expire before they have done so. In such a case it is important that the judge, as well as the parties, is alert to the problem.” 19.Thus, the hearing at which the decision to be appealed was made, within the meaning of CPR 52.3(2)(a), is the hearing at which the judgment is handed down by the lower court. Where the handing down is a formality and the parties are not required to attend, it still constitutes a hearing, still the hearing referred to in CPR 52.3(2)(a). That hearing can be adjourned for the purpose of hearing applications for permission to appeal, but it must be done formally by the court following an application by at least one of the parties. Where that happens, an application for permission to appeal will be treated as being made at the hearing referred to in CPR 52.3(2)(a). If there has been no such adjournment, the lower court has no jurisdiction to consider an application for permission to appeal at a subsequent hearing. 20.Further, even if an adjournment has been granted, unless the lower court also grants an extension of time to file an appellant’s notice, the time for doing so expires 21 days after the date on which the judgment was handed down.