The government has watered down its proposed restrictions on the right to appeal in asylum cases - but solicitors have this week warned that the U-turn does not go far enough.

The amended Asylum and Immigration Bill will enable parties to appeal to the High Court on the grounds that the tribunal erred in law; the court will have the power to refer the case back to the tribunal for reconsideration.

Cases will go directly to the Court of Appeal if they raise important points of law.

The original plans for a judicial review ouster clause caused uproar among the legal profession and human rights groups.

The government said the amendments would provide an appropriate judicial oversight of tribunal decisions while still speeding up the process; it hopes to slash the time taken to deal with 60% of appeals from one year to nine weeks, with almost all cases tackled within 14 weeks.

The new proposals also contain an amendment that will enable the government to make separate legal aid arrangements for the new system.

It promised to issue consultation on the matter before doing so, but said it was vital that the new funding arrangements only supported meritorious cases and did not flood the higher courts with 'weak' applications.

But the Law Society branded the amendments 'inadequate'.

Chief executive Janet Paraskeva said: 'The new proposal does not allow enough time to lodge an appeal and does not provide for an oral hearing - even when one would help the decision-making process.'

Paula Rohan