Parra, R (on the application of) v Immigration Appeal Tribunal, Court of Appeal - Administrative Court, July 26, 2000, [2000] EWHC Admin 377

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Parra, R (on the application of) v Immigration Appeal Tribunal, Court of Appeal - Administrative Court, July 26, 2000, [2000] EWHC Admin 377

Case No: CO 1475/99

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE

QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION)

CROWN OFFICE

Royal Courts of Justice

Strand, London, WC2A 2LL

Date: 26th July 2000

B e f o r e :

THE HON MRS JUSTICE SMITH

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Immigration Appeal Tribunal

ex parte

Vanessa Elizabeth Proano Parra

(A National of Ecuador)

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(Transcript of the Handed Down Judgment of

Smith Bernal Reporting Limited, 190 Fleet Street

London EC4A 2AG

Tel No: 020 7421 4040, Fax No: 020 7831 8838

Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)

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Mr E.W.B. Fripp appeared on behalf of the Applicant

Mr A. Underwood appeared on behalf of the Respondent

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Judgment

As Approved by the Court

Crown Copyright ©

Mrs Justice Smith:

This is an application for judicial review of the decision of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal (IAT) on 25 February 1999 refusing leave to appeal against the decision of a Special Adjudicator, Mr C.J. Hopkinson delivered on 30th November 1998. The Special Adjudicator had rejected the Applicant's appeal from the Secretary of State's decision dated 24th February 1998 that she did not qualify for asylum under the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the Convention).

Article 33(1) of the Convention provides:

`No contracting state shall expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion'.

By Article 1A, a `refugee' is defined as a person who `owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.'

Following an application for asylum, the initial decision is taken by the Secretary of State for the Home Office. There is a right of appeal to a Special Adjudicator pursuant to section 8(1) of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 and, with permission, from the Special Adjudicator to the IAT, pursuant to Part II of the Immigration Act 1971. The IAT has the power to overturn the Special Adjudicator 's determination on a point of law ...

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