Part 4: Age Assessment Section 55: Appeals relating to Age Assessment: Supplementary
Overview: This section details procedural matters for the provision of a right of appeal against age assessment decisions of people subject to immigration control.
	Background: This section sets out a number of further matters on how the appeal process will work. It confirms that an appeal may only be brought by a person who is in the United Kingdom. Should that person depart the United Kingdom while the appeal process is ongoing, the appeal will be considered withdrawn.
	In line with judicial reviews, age-disputed persons will be able to seek interim relief from the Tribunal , in the form of an order from the Tribunal that they be treated as a child pending the conclusion of their appeal.
	Under existing legislation, a determination of the First-Tier Tribunal (which will include an age assessment determination under this Part) can be appealed to the Upper Tribunal (and onwards to a higher court) on a point of law, which would require permission to appeal.
	Subsection 1 states that this section applies to appeals under section 54.
	Subsection 2 details that an appeal may only be brought by an age-disputed person who is in the UK.
	Subsection 3 details that if the age-disputed person leaves the UK before the appeal is finally determined the Tribunal must treat the appeal as abandoned.
	Subsection 4 provides for an interim relief mechanism. This allows an age-disputed person who is bringing an appeal to ask the Tribunal for an order that the relevant local authority must treat them as a child pending the conclusion of the appeal process. The Tribunal must decide whether or not it would be appropriate to grant such an order.
	Subsection 5 and subsection 6 state that following an allegation that relevant documents are forged, the Tribunal may hold further proceedings in private where to do otherwise would not be in the public interest. Many types of documents may be submitted in evidence, and these may rely on sophisticated technologies. The security features, ways of forging or defeating them and forgery detection methods should not normally be divulged to the public.
	Subsections 7 and 8 provide for the Tribunal, at its discretion, to introduce a system for reporting certain appeal judgments that it believes illustrate important legal principles, and for these judgments to set precedents in such matters for Tribunal judges to follow in other appeals.
	Subsection 9 details when an appeal is to be considered as finally determined. It will not be finally determined where there remains time for an application for permission to appeal to be made to a higher court, or where such permission has been granted and the appeal is pending, or where an appeal has been remitted by a superior court and is awaiting determination by the Tribunal.