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Justice Matrix · Case profile

UK - House of Lords, 14 November 2007, Secretary of State for the Home Department v AH (Sudan) & Ors [2007] UKHL 49

UK2007
AdverseNeeds review
Needs review

Machine-found from the cited source, not yet confirmed by a human. Open the source before relying on it.

Strategic issue

What was at stake

EDAL summary. The House of Lords test in Januzi (see separate summary) for assessing internal protection was approved.  In assessing whether the proposed area of internal relocation was unreasonable or unduly harsh...

Facts

What happened

The three applicants, black Africans from Darfur, Sudan, had a well-founded fear of persecution in Darfur. The Tribunal initially found it not unduly harsh for them to relocate to Khartoum, but the Court of Appeal overturned this decision.

Key holding

What the court decided

The House of Lords affirmed the Januzi test for internal protection, holding that decision‑makers must decide whether it is reasonable to expect an asylum‑seeker to relocate or whether doing so would be unduly harsh, and that it is not necessary to show a breach of Article 3 of the ECHR, only that relocation would be unreasonable or would infringe comparable rights; it further held that the Court of Appeal erred in finding the Tribunal applied an incorrect test.

Reasoning

How the court got there

The House of Lords decided that the correct test for internal protection was whether it was reasonable to expect the claimant to relocate or if it would be unduly harsh. The Court of Appeal was wrong to require a breach of Article 3 of the ECHR for internal relocation to be deemed unreasonable.

Authorities

Statutes and cases cited

Statutes & treaties
  • § 1951 Refugee Convention Art 1A(2)
Cases cited
  • Januzi v Secretary of State for the Home Department
Issue areas

Categories

asylumrefugee
Disclaimer and licence

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