[2023] UKUT 00164 (IAC)

In his 20 May 2021 speech, Judgment-Writing: A Personal Perspective, Lord Burrows described the 3 Cs (clarity, coherence and conciseness) as essential for a good judgment. Clarity and coherence will be best achieved through the identification of the principal controversial issues in the case, as set out above. A concise decision is difficult to achieve when the issues are not carefully narrowed at an early stage, and then reflected in the ASA and review. The PS is designed to ensure that the procedural architecture is in place to ensure that the legal principles governing the quality and content of determinations are satisfied. Legal officers have been trained to ensure the PS is complied with by the parties and are supported by judges in this. If the issues have not been clearly and specifically narrowed before the substantive hearing, they must be clarified and where possible narrowed at the beginning of the hearing and before the evidence commences. In addition, both parties must be encouraged to make their submissions in a disciplined and structured way by addressing the relevant evidence and law applicable to each issue.

It follows from what has been set out above that FTT decisions should begin by setting out the issues in dispute. This is clearly the proper approach to appeals under the online reform procedure where at each major stage there is a requirement to condense the parties’ positions in a clear, coherent and concise ‘issues-based’ manner. Had the FTT in the instant case outlined the issues in dispute, the focus upon the applicable law and the relevant evidence would have been more concise and particularised. This approach reduces the risk of making errors of law. We can illustrate this by reference to the FTT’s approach to whether the appellant is a danger to the community. The FTT quoted verbatim from the relevant reports, sentencing remarks and the ASA without identifying and summarising the main evidence relevant to the issue. This led to an inadequately reasoned decision on the issue, despite a very lengthy decision.