The High Court has ruled that GB does not need a certificate from the court before appealing an earlier judgment concerning a late international protection appeal.
In a judgment delivered on 18 December 2025, Ms Justice Miriam O'Regan held that a refusal by the International Protection Appeals Tribunal to extend time under Regulation 4(4) of the International Protection Act 2015 (Procedures and Periods for Appeals) Regulations 2017 is not subject to the special appeal restrictions in section 5 of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000.
The ruling follows an earlier High Court judgment of 20 October 2025 which rejected GB's attempt to quash the Tribunal's decision of 2 July 2025 refusing an extension of time. Costs of those proceedings were awarded to the respondents on 25 November.
The remaining question was procedural: whether GB needed a High Court certificate before taking an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
The respondents argued that the extension decision should be treated as part of the wider international protection process and therefore absorbed into the section 5 regime. They relied in particular on the Supreme Court's decision in AWK v Minister for Justice.
The High Court rejected that approach. Ms Justice O'Regan found that the Tribunal's extension decision dealt only with whether the delay in lodging an appeal satisfied the criteria in the 2017 Regulations. It was therefore separate from the underlying International Protection Office decision and any substantive Tribunal decision on the protection claim.
The judge also noted that the Minister has statutory power to add further categories of decisions to the section 5 regime, but Regulation 4(4) decisions have not been included.
As a result, no High Court certificate is required for GB to appeal this aspect of the case. Costs of this part of the proceedings were awarded to GB, subject to adjudication if not agreed.