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UK - Court of Appeal, 10 October 2006, SA (Somalia) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWCA Civ 1302
Country of applicant: Somalia
Keywords: Assessment of facts and circumstances, Credibility assessment, Medical Reports/Medico-legal Reports
This case concerned expert medical evidence relied on in support of an asylum application. The case confirmed that Experts documenting torture should follow the Istanbul Protocol and in particular Chapter V. It was also confirmed that all evidence, including medical evidence, had to be considered before findings of credibility or fact could be made.
Date of decision: 10-10-2006
Relevant International and European Legislation: EN - Qualification Directive, Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004,Art 4
Sweden – Migration Court of Appeal, 18 September 2006, UM 122-06
Country of applicant: Egypt
Keywords: Assessment of facts and circumstances, Benefit of doubt, Burden of proof, Credibility assessment, Persecution Grounds/Reasons, Political Opinion

The UNHCR Handbook is an important source of law concerning the procedure to determine protection needs. The Migration Court is responsible for ensuring that a case is sufficiently investigated by holding an oral hearing or otherwise investigating the ambiguities of the case, when an asylum seeker who has been rejected because of credibility grounds has submitted relevant documents that are deemed to be genuine by a Swedish embassy.

Date of decision: 18-09-2006
Relevant International and European Legislation: EN - Qualification Directive, Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004,Art 4,UNHCR Handbook,Para 195,Para 200,Para 201,Para 202,Para 203,Para 204,Para 196,Para 197,Para 198,Para 199,Para 205
France - CRR, Plenary session, 29 July 2005, Miss T., n°519803
Country of applicant: Cameroon
Keywords: Inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Persecution Grounds/Reasons, Subsidiary Protection, Membership of a particular social group

Women who want to escape from a forced marriage, whose attitude is perceived by whole or part of the society of their country of origin as an infringement of the applicable customs and laws, and who therefore face a risk of persecution against which the authorities are unable or unwilling to provide protection, must be considered as members of a social group in the meaning of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Refugee Convention; when these conditions are not fulfilled, in particular when their behavior is not perceived as an infringement of the social order, these women nevertheless face the risk of suffering inhuman or degrading treatment and should therefore be granted subsidiary protection.

Date of decision: 29-07-2005
Relevant International and European Legislation: EN - Qualification Directive, Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004,1951 Refugee Convention,Art 1A (2),Art 15 (b),Art 2,Art 7,Art 10.1 (d),Art 4,Art 6
France - CRR, Plenary session, 4 March 2005, Miss T., n°489014
Country of applicant: Turkey
Keywords: Persecution Grounds/Reasons, Membership of a particular social group

In the conditions which currently prevail in some rural areas in Eastern Turkey, the attitude of women of Kurdish origin who want to escape from a forced marriage is perceived by society and the authorities as an infringement of their customs, these women are therefore subjected to persecution committed with the assent of the population. Women who refuse forced marriage in these areas form a group whose members, by reasons of common characteristics which define them in the eyes of Turkish society, are likely to face persecution against which the authorities are unable to provide protection.

Date of decision: 04-03-2005
Relevant International and European Legislation: EN - Qualification Directive, Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004,1951 Refugee Convention,Art 1A (2),Art 2,Art 7,Art 10.1 (d),Art 4,Art 6
UK - Immigration Appeal Tribunal, 16 December 2004, HE (DRC - credibility and psychiatric reports) DRC [2004] UKIAT 00321
Country of applicant: Congo (DRC)
Keywords: Assessment of facts and circumstances, Credibility assessment, Medical Reports/Medico-legal Reports
The court identified the limitation of psychiatric evidence when adduced as corroboration of past facts. 
Date of decision: 16-12-2004
Relevant International and European Legislation: EN - Qualification Directive, Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004,Art 4
Czech Republic - Supreme Administrative Court, 24 February 2004, Y.A. v Ministry of Interior, 6 Azs 50/2003-89
Country of applicant: Iran
Keywords: Assessment of facts and circumstances, Benefit of doubt, Burden of proof, Country of origin information, Personal interview

If any fact emerges during the interview, which indicates that the applicant could be persecuted for exercising his political rights and freedoms, or has a well-founded fear of being persecuted on the grounds upon which asylum can be granted, the Ministry of Interior obliged to conduct the interview in a way that would achieve an outcome which is sufficiently clear for the needs of considering the asylum claim. It is also necessary to evaluate the way in which state power is exercised in the country of origin, and the real possibility of exercising one’s political rights and other circumstances that could establish grounds for international protection.

Date of decision: 24-02-2004
Relevant International and European Legislation: EN - Qualification Directive, Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004,1951 Refugee Convention,EN - Asylum Procedures Directive, Council Directive 2005/85/EC of 1 December 2005,Art 4,Art 12,Art 33,EN - Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,Article 3
UK - Court of Appeal, 24 April 2002, S & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2002] EWCA Civ 539
Country of applicant: Croatia
Keywords: Country of origin information, Individual assessment
This case concerned Country Guidance case law and the Court of Appeal’s direction on its application in subsequent asylum claims (see judicial guidance in comments section below).
Date of decision: 24-04-2002
Relevant International and European Legislation: EN - Qualification Directive, Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004,Art 4
UK - Immigration Appeal Tribunal, 19 February 2002, Tanveer Ahmed [2002] UKIAT 00439
Country of applicant: Pakistan
Keywords: Assessment of facts and circumstances, Burden of proof, Country of origin information
This decision established that the burden of demonstrating the reliability of documents adduced in an asylum case lay on the applicant.  Only when an allegation of forgery was made  and it was necessary to determine whether the documents were forged did the burden shift to the Home Office. In that case the standard was the balance of probabilities.
Date of decision: 19-02-2002
Relevant International and European Legislation: EN - Qualification Directive, Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004,Art 4
Poland - Supreme Administrative Court in Warsaw, 14 February 2002, V SA/Wa 1673/01,
Country of applicant: Palestinian Territory
Keywords: Exclusion from protection, Refugee sur place, Cessation of protection

One cannot demand recognition of refugee status pursuant to Article 1A(2) of the Geneva Convention where protection can be provided pursuant to Article 1D of the Convention. The phrase used in the first sentence of Article 1D of the Convention – “persons who are at present receiving… protection or assistance” – relates to those Palestinians who could avail themselves of protection on the date of the Convention, i.e., on 28 July 1951., and to their direct descendants born after that date, provided they remain under the mandate of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency). “Protection or assistance” for Palestinians is provided solely in areas under the UNRWA mandate. Therefore, exclusions from protection under the Geneva Convention relate only to those Palestinians who reside permanently in those areas.

Date of decision: 14-02-2002
Relevant International and European Legislation: Art 2,Art 12,Art 5,Art 4,Art 23,Art 1A,Para 94,Para 96,Art 1D,Art 1C,Para 143
UK - Immigration Appeal Tribunal, 19 July 2001, Kacaj v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2001] UKIAT 0018
Country of applicant: Albania
Keywords: Actor of persecution or serious harm, Standard of proof
This case confirmed that the UK will apply a single standard of proof for protection claims, whether based on Refugee Convention grounds or Art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Date of decision: 19-07-2001
Relevant International and European Legislation: EN - Qualification Directive, Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004,1951 Refugee Convention,Art 2,Art 7,Art 4,Art 6,Art 1A,EN - Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,Article 2,Article 3,Article 8