UM v the Minister for Foreign Affairs & anor

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M v the Minister for Foreign Affairs & anor
Respondent/Defendant:The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Passport Appeals Officer David Barry
Court/s:Supreme Court
Citation/s:[2022] IESC 25
Nature of Proceedings:Appeal
Judgment Date/s:02 Jun 2022
Judge: Dunne E.
Category:Citizenship, Citizenship (Loss of), Refugee Law
Keywords:Citizenship, Citizenship (Acquisition of), Citizenship (Loss of), Dependant, Family Member, Refugee, Refugee Status (Withdrawal of)
Country of Origin:Afghanistan
URL:https://courts.ie/view/judgments/489c8348-eefe-4710-ad77-5d07c5900dfe/c6e228ba-8511-496c-bfcf-97e1fb6be228/2022_IESC_25_Dunne%20J.pdf/pdf

Facts: UM was born in Galway in June 2013. His father, MM, an Afghan national, was declared a refugee in in Ireland in 2006. In June 2013, MM was informed by the Department of Justice of an intention to revoke his refugee status on grounds including that he had returned to Afghanistan and stayed there for two months and that … Read More

Principles:Revocation of refugee status has prospective effect. A residence status conferred by the State on a parent based on false or misleading information could, under the terms of the relevant legislation, be included for the calculation of the period required to confer an entitlement of citizenship to their child.
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MAH v Minister for Justice

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Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Justice
Court/s:High Court
Citation/s:[2021] IEHC 302
Nature of Proceedings:Judicial Review
Judgment Date/s:30 Apr 2021
Judge:Burns T
Category:Deportation
Keywords:Asylum, Country of Origin Information, Deportation Order, European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Refoulement (Non-), Refugee
Country of Origin:Somalia
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/62760bea-78ce-44be-a54a-e592ecbb8bd0/2020_IEHC_302.pdf/pdf#view=fitH

Facts: The applicant was a Somali national who had studied medicine in Ukraine. Upon completion of her studies, she returned to Somalia where she worked as a junior doctor. During this time, the applicant was subjected to threats from a fundamentalist group and so she fled to Ukraine through renewing her student visa. Upon the expiry of her student visa, … Read More

Principles:In making a deportation order, the Minister for Justice was obliged to consider whether country of origin information was capable of rebutting of the presumption that another Member State upholds fundamental rights. The Minister for Justice was not entitled to dismiss an applicant’ s employment prospects on the basis that she did not hold a work permit or immigration permission.
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A, S and I v Minister for Justice

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Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Justice
Court/s:Supreme Court
Citation/s:[2020] IESC 70
Nature of Proceedings:Judicial review/appeal
Judgment Date/s:08 Dec 2020
Judge:Dunne E
Category:Refugee Law
Keywords:Child (Separated), Family (Nuclear), Family Unity (Right to), Protection (International), Refugee
Country of Origin:Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/d0eae3ec-52c2-41af-8f01-f97a34a2d5ab/2020_IESC_70_Dunne%20J.pdf/pdf#view=fitH

Facts: The first and second applicants were recognised refugees whose applications for family reunification with their wives were refused on the basis that their marriages took place after they had applied for international protection. They challenged the constitutionality and/or ECHR compatibility of section 56(9)(a) of the International Protection Act 2015 (which limits the right of family reunification to spouses where … Read More

Principles:The limitation of the right to family reunification to spouses whose marriages took place prior to submission of an application for international protection was neither unconstitutional nor in breach of the ECHR. The absolute 12 month time limit for submission of an application for family reunification was neither unconstitutional nor in breach of the ECHR.
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MAM and KN v Minister for Justice

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Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Justice
Court/s:Supreme Court
Citation/s:[2020] IESC 32
Nature of Proceedings:Appeal/Judicial Review
Judgment Date/s:19 Jun 2020
Judge:MacMenamin J
Category:Refugee Law
Keywords:Citizenship, Family Reunification, Family Unity (Right to), Refugee
Country of Origin:Somalia and Uzbekistan
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/5233d3ad-29b9-4f07-9536-65eb166a1784/2020_IESC_32.pdf/pdf#view=fitH

Facts The issue raised in these proceedings was effectively whether a refugee who subsequently acquired Irish citizenship by naturalisation lost the right to family reunification pursuant to section 18 of the Refugee Act 1996. The evidence before the court was that between 2010 and 2017 the Minister for Justice accepted applications for family reunification from refugees who had acquired Irish … Read More

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X v Minister for Justice

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X v Minister for Justice
Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Justice
Court/s:Supreme Court
Citation/s:[2020] IESC 30
Nature of Proceedings:Appeal/Judicial Review
Judgment Date/s:09 Jun 2020
Judge:Dunne E
Category:Refugee Law
Keywords:Child, Family Reunification, Minor, Refugee
Country of Origin:Cameroon
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/8e8e0650-abef-4c54-91d9-48b06e388d74/2020_IESC_30(Unapproved).pdf/pdf#view=fitH

Facts The issue at the heart of this appeal was the extent or breadth of the definition of “child” for the purpose of refugee family reunification and whether that definition could include a minor who is not a biological or adopted child of the applicant. The High Court ([2019] IEHC 284) held that the term “child” in section 56(9) of … Read More

Principles:For the purposes of refugee family reunification, the term “child” in section 56(9) of the International Protection Act 2015 is limited to a biological or adoptive child.
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B v International Protection Appeals Tribunal

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Respondent/Defendant:International Protection Appeals Tribunal
Court/s:Supreme Court
Citation/s:[2019] IEHC 763
Nature of Proceedings:Appeal/Judicial Review
Judgment Date/s:14 Nov 2019
Judge:Barrett M
Category:Refugee Law
Keywords:Asylum (Application for), Country of Origin (Safe), Refugee
Country of Origin:Albania
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/15c28ab5-15e7-481f-b723-3a674f2a5621/2019_IEHC_763_1.pdf/pdf#view=fitH

Facts: The applicant was an Albanian national who was stalked by a co-worker who vandalised her husband’s car and subsequently fired shots at her husband. The appellant subsequently moved to Tirana but her stalker found her and further intimidated her there. The appellant claimed her stalker enjoyed political influence and/or protection in Albania so her complaints to the police were … Read More

Principles:The International Protection Appeals Tribunal erred in in its assessment of the impact of the fact that Albania has been designated as a safe country of origin in Irish law (by the International Protection Act 2015 (Safe Countries of Origin) Order 2018 (SI No.121/2018). The applicant had submitted serious grounds for considering the country not to be a safe country of origin in her particular circumstances.
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II v Minister for Justice

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Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Justice
Court/s:High Court
Citation/s:[2019] IEHC 729
Nature of Proceedings:Appeal/Judicial Review
Judgment Date/s:29 Oct 2019
Judge:Humphreys R
Category:Refugee Law
Keywords:Child (Separated), Discrimination (Direct), European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Family Reunification, Family Unity (Right to), Refugee
Country of Origin:Nigeria
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/08ccbb41-7ed2-47cc-b904-f7422dbbe652/2019_IEHC_%20729_%201.pdf/pdf#view=fitH

Facts: The applicant was granted refugee status as a minor on 25 September 2014. In July 2018, when the applicant was aged 17, an application for family reunification in respect of her mother, father and sister was submitted by her social worker. In September 2018 the application was refused by the Minister for Justice on the basis that it had … Read More

Principles:Section 56(8) of the International Protection Act 2015 was not repugnant to the Constitution or incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
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A and S v Minister for Justice

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Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Justice
Court/s:High Court
Citation/s:[2019] IEHC 547
Nature of Proceedings:Appeal/Judicial Review
Judgment Date/s:17 Jul 2019
Judge:Barrett M
Category:Refugee Law
Keywords:Discrimination (Direct), European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Family Reunification, Family Unity (Right to), Refugee
Country of Origin:Iraq and Afghanistan
URL:courts.ie/view/judgments/a1ff7c8a-9c39-4411-b49d-a0a316a83c36/69965e47-beb6-4eda-8ef4-4f8df5726dd1/2019_IEHC_547_1.pdf/pdf

Facts: The applicants were Iraqi and Afghan nationals who were granted refugee status in the State. They each subsequently applied for family reunification for their wives. The Minister for Justice refused the applications on the basis that section 56(9)(a) of the International Protection Act 2015 only provided for refugee family reunification for spouses where the marriage pre-dated the application for … Read More

Principles:The exclusion of post-flight marriages from the statutory right to family reunification in section 56(9)(a) of the International Protection Act 2015 is unconstitutional.
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AP v Minister for Justice

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AP v Minister for Justice
Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Justice
Court/s:Supreme Court
Citation/s:[2019] IESC 47
Nature of Proceedings:Appeal/Judicial Review
Judgment Date/s:31 May 2019
Judge:Clarke F; O’Donnell D
Category:Citizenship, Refugee Law
Keywords:Citizenship (Acquisition of), Naturalisation, Refugee
Country of Origin:Iran
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/009d85d1-dab7-4142-bd5e-96e2cde141f7/2019_IESC_47_2.pdf/pdf#view=fitH

Facts The applicant was an Iranian national who arrived in the State in October 1989 and was granted refugee status in December 2001. He had made four previous applications for a certificate of naturalisation under the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 (as amended). His fifth application for naturalisation was refused by the Minister by decision of … Read More

Principles:It was at least possible to put in place an enhanced process whereby an independent assessment could be made as to whether any version of privileged information relied on in refusing an application for naturalisation, could be provided in a way which would not affect State interests to the extent that disclosure should not be required at all
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MAM and KN v Minister for Justice

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MAM and KN v Minister for Justice
Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Justice
Court/s:Court of Appeal
Citation/s:[2019] IECA 116
Nature of Proceedings:Appeal/Judicial Review
Judgment Date/s:29 Mar 2019
Category:Refugee Law
Keywords:Citizenship, Family Reunification, Refugee
Country of Origin:Somalia and Uzbekistan
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/0d59dddf-24bc-4f10-9b06-6e9055bdfc78/2019_IECA_116_1.pdf/pdf#view=fitH
Geographic Focus:Other

Facts The issue raised in these proceedings was effectively whether a refugee who subsequently acquires Irish citizenship by naturalisation lost the right to family reunification pursuant to section 18 of the Refugee Act 1996. The evidence before the court was that between 2010 and 2017 the Minister for Justice accepted applications for family reunification from refugees who had acquired Irish … Read More

Principles:A refugee who has acquired Irish citizenship by naturalisation is no longer eligible for refugee family reunification.
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RC v Minister for Justice

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Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Justice
Court/s:High Court
Citation/s:[2019] IEHC 65
Nature of Proceedings:Appeal/Judicial Review
Judgment Date/s:15 Feb 2019
Judge:Humphreys R
Category:Refugee Law
Keywords:Discrimination (Direct), European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Family Reunification, Family Unity (Right to), Refugee
Country of Origin:Afghanistan
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/bd8e4e01-f677-46fd-b565-affc6965ec4a/2019_IEHC_65_1.pdf/pdf#view=fitH

Facts: The applicant was a national of Afghanistan who was granted subsidiary protection in Ireland in 2016. He subsequently applied for family reunification for his wife whom he married in 2017. The Minister for Justice refused the application on the basis that section 56(9)(a) of the 2015 Act only provided for refugee family reunification for spouses where the marriage pre-dated … Read More

Principles:The exclusion of post-flight marriages from the statutory right to family reunification in section 56(9)(a) of the International Protection Act 2015 is not unlawful.
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FB v Minister for Justice and Equality (No. 2)

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Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Justice and Equality
Court/s:High Court
Citation/s:[2018] IEHC 716
Nature of Proceedings:Judicial Review
Judgment Date/s:13 Dec 2018
Judge:Keane D.
Category:Refugee Law
Keywords:Child, Family Life (Right to), Family Reunification, Family Unity (Right to), Refugee
Country of Origin:Nigeria
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/6791ea72-531a-453a-810b-88cbad9da038/2018_IEHC_716_1.pdf/pdf#view=fitH

Facts: The applicant was a 75 year old Nigerian national who arrived in the State in 2005 and claimed asylum. She was recognised as a refugee in 2008 and in 2012 became a naturalised citizen. The applicant applied for family reunification with her granddaughters who were dependant upon her. The application was refused by the Minister and the applicant brought … Read More

Principles:It was incumbent on the Minister to consider the concrete reality of the relationship between the persons concerned and the extent to which it was one of “de facto family ties” protected by the right to family life under Article 8 of the Convention, and to set out the Minister’s reasoning on that issue expressly in the decision.
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Agha v Minister for Social Protection; Osinuga v Minister for Social Protection

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Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Social Protection
Court/s:Court of Appeal
Citation/s:[2018] IECA 155
Nature of Proceedings:Appeal
Judgment Date/s:06 May 2018
Judge:Hogan G.
Category:Citizenship, Refugee Law
Keywords:Asylum, Child, Citizenship, Citizenship (Acquisition of), Discrimination (Indirect), Equal Treatment (Principle of), Immigration, Migrant (Irregular), Refugee, Refugee Law
Country of Origin:Afghanistan, Nigeria, Ireland
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/1117d422-fc42-41fe-8c30-88f03e2d04a5/2018_IECA_155_1.pdf/pdf#view=fitH
Geographic Focus:Other

xAgha v Minister for Social Protection; Osinuga v Minister for Social Protection Agha; Osinuga Minister for Social Protection Facts: The appellants were two sets of parents who were refused payment of child benefit due to their immigration status. In the Agha case, the parents were Afghan nationals who arrived in Ireland in 2008. They lived in direct provision and had … Read More

Principles:

There was no objective justification for the statutory exclusion of an Irish citizen resident in the State from eligibility for child benefit prior to the grant of status to her mother in January 2016. Accordingly, this statutory exclusion constituted a breach of the equality provisions of Article 40.1 of the Constitution.

The statutory requirement that a qualifying parent for the purposes of social welfare payments must also have a legal entitlement to reside in the State was not unconstitutional. The key issue was that of citizenship. The Oireachtas was entitled to attach conditions to the eligibility for social welfare of a non-national whose entitlement to reside in the State was contingent on a statutory entitlement. However, social welfare was payable in respect of a person from the date of the grant of refugee status in accordance with Article 28 of the Qualification Directive and insofar as Irish law precluded this payment based on the status of the child’s parents, this was incompatible with EU law.

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BW v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform

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Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
Court/s:Court of Appeal
Citation/s:[2017] IECA 296
Nature of Proceedings:Appeal
Judgment Date/s:15 Nov 2017
Judge:Peart M.
Category:Refugee Law
Keywords:Asylum (Application for), Protection (Application for International), Refugee, Refugee Law
Country of Origin:Nigeria
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/d350b5b9-b21e-4d90-81dc-c43f7a116232/2017_IECA_296_1.pdf/pdf#view=fitH
Geographic Focus:Other

Facts: The applicant came to Ireland from Nigeria in 2007. She applied for refugee status in 2011. Her application was unsuccessful. She appealed to the first respondent. The appeal was a papers only appeal. The appeal was unsuccessful. The Refugee Appeals Tribunal made adverse credibility findings based on matters that had not been put to the applicant and concluded that … Read More

Principles:

Where an issue of concern emerged for the first time on a papers only appeal in relation to a matter which the appellant had not already had a fair opportunity to address and that concern was in relation to something material to the basis on which asylum was being sought, and therefore to the decision whether or not she be granted a declaration of refugee status, the appellant was as a matter of fair procedures entitled to an opportunity to address it before any adverse finding of credibility was made against her.

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NA (Somalia) and UM (Afghanistan) v Minister for Justice and Equality

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Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Justice and Equality
Court/s:High Court
Nature of Proceedings:Judicial Review
Judgment Date/s:10 Nov 2017
Judge:Steward C.
Category:Citizenship, Refugee Law
Keywords:Citizenship, Citizenship (Loss of), Refugee, Refugee Status (Withdrawal of)
Country of Origin:Somalia/Afghanistan
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/2083e39b-b08f-4d17-b54a-a7072cd52580/2017_IEHC_741_1.pdf/pdf#view=fitH
Geographic Focus:Other

Facts: In the first case, the first named applicant, a Somali national, arrived in the State in 2004. She married another Somali national and was granted residence permission based on his refugee status, which he acquired in June 2008. His refugee status was revoked in October 2011 under s.21(1)h of the Refugee Act 1996, on grounds that the information provided … Read More

Principles:

Revocation of a person’s grant of refugee status on the basis of false and misleading information had the effect of rendering that grant void ab initio. It also had the legally unavoidable effect of rendering the grant of Irish citizenship to the children of such persons null and void.[2017] IEHC 741

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FF v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform

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Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
Court/s:Court of Appeal
Citation/s:[2017] IECA 273
Nature of Proceedings:Appeal
Judgment Date/s:25 Oct 2017
Judge:Finlay Geoghegan M.
Category:Refugee Law
Keywords:Asylum, Protection (Application for International), Refugee, Refugee Law, Stateless Person
Country of Origin:Cameroon
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/318af6e0-f050-45db-b8e0-08c467775cdc/2017_IECA_273_1.pdf/pdf#view=fitH
Geographic Focus:Other

Facts: The applicant was born in Cameroon in 1965. He worked as a journalist and with an NGO and claimed to have experienced persecution in Cameroon, including arrest, detention and torture. He fled to Nigeria in 1999 and was recognised as a refugee there in 2001. He claims to have been threatened by a Cameroonian diplomat in Nigeria, and in … Read More

Principles:

The Qualification Directive in using the term “a stateless person” in the definition of “refugee” in Article 2(c) is using this term to connote the second category of persons referred to in the definition of refugee in the Geneva Convention, namely persons “not having a nationality”. This meant a person who was de jure stateless but did not include a person who was de facto stateless.

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U v Refugee Appeals Tribunal (No.2)

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Respondent/Defendant:Refugee Appeals Tribunal
Court/s:High Court
Citation/s:[2017] IEHC 613
Nature of Proceedings:Judicial Review
Judgment Date/s:24 Oct 2017
Judge:O'Regan M.
Category:Refugee Law
Keywords:Asylum application (Examination of an), Child, Dublin Transfer, Refugee, Transfer Order
Country of Origin:Pakistan
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/114ec226-d494-4b1f-a961-c25e699cb9dc/2017_IEHC_613_1.pdf/pdf#view=fitH
Geographic Focus:Other

Facts: The applicants were a family of Pakistani nationals comprising a mother and her three children. They were granted visas to travel to the United Kingdom to allow them join their husband/father, where they resided between May 2014 and June 2015. They arrived in Ireland on 5 June 2015 and applied for asylum alleging a fear of persecution in Pakistan. … Read More

Principles:

In order to prevent the execution of a transfer order on Article 8 grounds, an especially compelling case under Article 8 would have to be demonstrated.

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U v Refugee Appeals Tribunal

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Respondent/Defendant:Refugee Appeals Tribunal
Court/s:High Court
Citation/s:[2017] IEHC 613
Nature of Proceedings:Judicial Review
Judgment Date/s:26 Jun 2017
Judge:O’Regan M.
Category:Refugee Law
Keywords:Asylum application (Examination of an), Dublin Regulation, Refugee, Transfer Order
Country of Origin:Pakistan
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/114ec226-d494-4b1f-a961-c25e699cb9dc/2017_IEHC_613_1.pdf/pdf#view=fitH
Geographic Focus:Other

Facts: The applicants were a family of Pakistani nationals comprising a mother and her three children. They were granted visas to travel to the United Kingdom to allow them join their husband/father, where they resided between May 2014 and June 2015. They arrived in Ireland on 5 June 2015 and applied for asylum alleging a fear of persecution in Pakistan. … Read More

Principles:

In order to prevent the execution of a transfer order on Article 8 grounds, an especially compelling case under Article 8 would have to be demonstrated.

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BS and RS v Refugee Appeals Tribunal

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Respondent/Defendant:Refugee Appeals Tribunal
Court/s:Court of Appeal
Citation/s:[2017] IECA 179
Nature of Proceedings:Judicial Review
Judgment Date/s:14 Jun 2017
Judge:Peart M.
Category:Refugee Law
Keywords:Asylum application (Examination of an), Asylum Seeker (Secondary Movement of), Dublin Regulation, Refugee, Transfer Order
Country of Origin:Albania
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/ba1a0aa7-2215-4092-bf2c-15b9ab85e89d/2017_IECA_179_2.pdf/pdf#view=fitH

Facts: The applicants were two Albanian asylum seekers who challenged the decision of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal upholding the decision of the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner that the United Kingdom was the member state responsible for determining their applications for asylum. The applicants claimed asylum in Ireland on 16 December 2014, and completed their asylum application questionnaires on … Read More

Principles:

The Dublin III Regulation introduced and enhanced the rights of individual asylum seekers in relation to the making of transfer decisions under the Regulation.  However, the concept of an effective remedy under Article 27(1) of the Dublin III Regulation could not be extended to the point that it could be used to challenge a transfer decision on the basis that the Annex V form was incorrectly completed. The provision of the appellants’ fingerprints by the Irish authorities to the UK was in pursuit of the legitimate interest of providing information to ascertain which member state was responsible for their asylum applications, in accordance with section 2A of the Data Protection Act 1988.

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NVH v Minister for Justice and Equality and the Attorney General

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NVH v Minister for Justice and Equality: Supreme Court ruling on ban on asylum seekers looking for work
Respondent/Defendant:Minister for Justice and Equality
Court/s:Supreme Court
Citation/s:[2017] IESC 35
Nature of Proceedings:Appeal
Judgment Date/s:30 May 2017
Judge:O'Donnell D.
Category:Employment, Refugee Law
Keywords:Asylum, Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Employment, European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Pull Factor, Refugee, Refugee Law
Country of Origin:Burma
URL:https://www.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/553e0e20-ac4a-48e6-a4fa-fef5638377ac/2017_IESC_35_1.pdf/pdf#view=fitH
Geographic Focus:Ireland

Facts: Section 9 of the Refugee Act 1996 provided that a person seeking asylum is entitled to enter the State and remain while the application for refugee status is processed. Section 9(4) also provided however, that an applicant shall not seek or enter employment before final determination of his or her application for a declaration. Pending the determination of an … Read More

Principles:

The absolute prohibition on asylum seekers seeking employment,  coupled with the absence of a maximum time limit on the processing of asylum applications, meant the prohibition was in breach of the constitutional right to seek employment.

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