Spain – Supreme Court, 14 December 2006, Nº 8233/2003
Keywords:
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Credibility assessment
Description
Assessment made in adjudicating an application for a visa, or other immigration status, in order to determine whether the information presented by the applicant is consistent and credible. |
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Persecution Grounds/Reasons
Description
Per Article 1A ofthe1951 Refugee Convention, one element of the refugee definition is that the persecution feared is “for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion“. Member States must take a number of elements into account when assessing the reasons for persecution as per Article 10 of the Qualification Directive. |
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Membership of a particular social group
Description
One of the grounds of persecution specified in the refugee definition per Article 1A ofthe1951 Refugee Convention. According to the Qualification Directive, membership of a particular social group means members who share an innate characteristic, or a common background that cannot be changed, or share a characteristic or belief that is so fundamental to identity or conscience that a person should not be forced to renounce it, and that group has a distinct identity in the relevant country, because it is perceived as being different by the surrounding society. Depending on the circumstances in the country of origin, a particular social group might include a group based on a common characteristic of sexual orientation. Sexual orientation cannot be understood to include acts considered to be criminal in accordance with national law of the Member States: Gender related aspects might be considered, without by themselves alone creating a presumption for the applicability of this concept. |
Headnote:
The case concerned an appeal lodged before the Supreme Court against a decision of the High National Court to reject a claim for refugee status based on membership of a particular social group (this particular group was determined by economic status).
Facts:
The applicant alleged a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of his membership of a particular social group based on his social and economic status. The applicant and his family experienced threats and economic extortion in Colombia; they also reported the kidnapping of a family member. The sole grounds for their claim was based on their economic status, they did not claim to have any particular political opinion.
The High National Court, accepting the credibility of the applicant, refused to grant refugee status on the grounds that socio-economic status does not constitute a particular social group according to the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Decision & reasoning:
The Supreme Court held that taking into consideration the socioeconomic context in Colombia, it could be affirmed that belonging to a privileged economic status in the country distinguishes and identifies a person as member of a particular social group.
As the credibility of the allegations were accepted as proven and membership of a particular social group established, the Supreme Court granted the applicant refugee status.
Outcome:
The appeal was successful and the Supreme Court granted a declaration of refugee status.
Observations/comments:
This case has been cited subsequently by the Supreme Court in relation to other cases regarding Colombian citizens who were found to constitute members of the particular social group based on their privileged economic status. Qualification Directive 83/2004 was applied, although it had not been transposed in 2006.