When does asylum country guidance bind?

Is the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) bound to take into account a Country Guidance (CG) case that is issued by the Upper Tribunal after the date of the FTT hearing, and after the date the FTT judge signs the determination, but before that determination is promulgated?

The short answer, in general, and for the very unfortunate appellant in NA (Libya) v SSHD [[2017] EWCA Civ 143](http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2017/143.html), is yes.

Timeline

The Libyan appellant in this case had been refused asylum and appealed against the decision to the tribunal. The appeal was heard by the FTT and allowed. The decision was made on the basis of information and guidance relating to the risks for certain Libyans returning home that existed and was applicable at the time.

Both parties and the tribunal were apparently aware that there was a  CG case in the pipeline[3], heard by the Upper Tribunal several months previously in November 2013. Neither party applied to the tribunal to adjourn the hearing.

See our piece on Free Movement for the timeline involved and for the impact of the case.

Main image credit: Photo by Linda Perez Johannessen on Unsplash