Revista Temas de Derecho Constitucional

241 Asilo en el reino unido: un derecho restringido are varied, and include wide-ranging matters such as English language requirements, tuberculosis screening, knowledge of language and life in Britain, and shortage occupation lists. For our purposes the relevant Part is Part 11. Part 11 of the Rules (Paragraphs 326A to 352H), deals with the way asylum claims are to be considered by the Secretary of State. The person wishing to be recognised as a refugee is known as an ‘asylum applicant’. A determination on the matter of asylum is to be made under the Refugee Convention and under the Immigration Rules. Whilst the determination is pending no action will be taken seeking to ensure the departure of the asylum applicant or their dependants. That is an explicit formulation of the non-refoulement guarantee under Article 33 of the Convention 28 . If a claimant does not qualify for refugee status, they may qualify for international protection. Their claimwill be considered under the terms of the ECHR. ACTS OF PARLIAMENT Immigration is a matter ‘reserved’ to the UK government as a whole. The term reserved means that certain areas belong to the exclusive province of Parliament. Only Westminster can legislate on matters pertaining to international migration and border control. Devolved legislations do not have the competency to regulate the right of asylum. In Scotland the list of matters reserved to the UK Parliament can be found in Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998 29 . There are a number of parliamentary instruments dealing with immigration in general, and asylum in particular. To cite only the main Acts, there are the Immigration Act 1971; the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996; the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002; the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004; The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, and the Immigration Act 2014. These instruments deal with varied matters such as the regulation of entry and stay; asylum, immigration control and immigration offences; immigration procedure, appeals, and the detention and removal of persons. Dozens of statutory instruments implement those Acts of Parliament. This is because immigration legislation is politically reactive and as such, subject to rapid change. It is at the very least challenging for specialist immigration practitioners to keep abreast of constant developments. For asylum seekers it is virtually impossible to successfully navigate this complex legislative framework by themselves. Access to advice and representation would secure the claimant’s right to a due process under Article 6 of the ECHR and the HRA, yet legal aid is not always available 30 . 28 See: ICRC. (2018). Note on migration and the principle of non-refoulement [Ebook]. Retrieved from https:// www.icrc.org ./en/download/file/69679/ircc-904-19.pdf for a complete treatment of the guarantee against return. 29 At Section B6. The reserve extends to nationality, immigration (including asylumand the status and capacity of non-British citizens), the free movement of persons within the EEA and the issue of travel documentation. 30 The UK, the Common European Asylum System and EU Immigration Law - Migration Observatory. (2019). Retrieved 23 August 2019, from https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/primers/the-uk-the- common-european-asylum-system-and-eu-immigration-law/ where it states: ‘Legal aid reforms under the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and those currently proposed in the Criminal