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Immigration Act 2009

Appeals, reviews, and other proceedings - Appeal from Tribunal and judicial review

245: Appeal to High Court on point of law by leave

You could also call this:

“You can ask the High Court for permission to appeal a Tribunal decision on a legal issue”

If you are unhappy with a decision made by the Tribunal because you think it made a mistake about the law, you can ask the High Court for permission to appeal. This applies to anyone involved in the case, including the person who appealed, affected people, the Minister, or other officials.

If the High Court says no to your request, you can then ask the Court of Appeal for permission. If the Court of Appeal says no, that decision is final and you can’t appeal further.

You need to ask the High Court for permission to appeal within 28 days after you were told about the Tribunal’s decision. If you miss this deadline, you can ask the High Court to give you more time, but you must do this before the 28 days are up.

When deciding whether to let you appeal, the court will think about how important the legal question is, both for you and for the public.

If you’re allowed to appeal, the High Court will look at the legal questions in your case. They can then do one of three things: agree with the Tribunal’s decision, send the case back to the Tribunal with instructions on what to do, or make their own orders about the case.

Your appeal will follow the rules of the court, with some changes to fit with this law. There might also be special practices and procedures developed under section 260 that you need to follow.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM1440976.

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244: Tribunal may require mixture of closed and open hearings, or

“Tribunal can mix closed and open parts in hearings involving classified information”

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246: Appeal to Court of Appeal on point of law by leave, or

“You can ask to appeal a High Court immigration decision to the Court of Appeal”

Part 7 Appeals, reviews, and other proceedings
Appeal from Tribunal and judicial review

245Appeal to High Court on point of law by leave

  1. Where any party to an appeal to, or matter before, the Tribunal (being either the person who appealed or applied to the Tribunal, an affected person, or the Minister, chief executive, or other person) is dissatisfied with any determination of the Tribunal in the proceedings as being erroneous in point of law, that party may, with the leave of the High Court (or, if the High Court refuses leave, with the leave of the Court of Appeal), appeal to the High Court on that question of law.

  2. A decision by the Court of Appeal to refuse leave to appeal to the High Court is final.

  3. An application to the High Court under this section for leave to appeal must be made—

  4. not later than 28 days after the date on which the decision of the Tribunal to which the appeal relates was notified to the party appealing; or
    1. within such further time as the High Court may allow on application made before the expiry of that 28-day period.

      1. In determining whether to grant leave to appeal under this section, the court to which the application for leave is made must have regard to whether the question of law involved in the appeal is one that by reason of its general or public importance or for any other reason ought to be submitted to the High Court for its decision.

      2. On the appeal, the High Court must determine the question or questions of law arising in the proceedings, and may then—

      3. confirm the decision in respect of which the appeal has been brought; or
        1. remit the matter to the Tribunal with the opinion of the High Court, together with any directions as to how the matter should be dealt with; or
          1. make such other orders in relation to the matter as it thinks fit.

            1. Subject to subsection (2), every appeal under this section must be dealt with in accordance with the rules of the court, with any modifications necessary to reflect the provisions of this Act, including any ancillary general practices and procedures developed under section 260.

            Compare
            Notes
            • Section 245(1A): inserted, on , by section 61(1) of the Immigration Amendment Act 2015 (2015 No 48).
            • Section 245(2): amended, on , by section 61(2) of the Immigration Amendment Act 2015 (2015 No 48).