The High Court refused an applicant leave to seek judicial review of the Minister for Justice and Equality’s refusal to revoke a deportation order. Justice Colm MacEochaidh delivered the judgment on 25 July 2016.
The application concerned a deportation order made on 8 November 2011 and a later request to revoke it. The applicant’s solicitors sought revocation in May 2015, arguing that he faced harm if returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a failed asylum seeker and wished to re-enter the asylum process and apply for subsidiary protection.
The Minister refused revocation after considering country information, including the “Unsafe Return” reports on Congolese asylum seekers and UK country guidance. The Minister’s official concluded that failed asylum seekers were not at risk of harm solely because of that status. The High Court was considering whether the applicant had established substantial grounds for judicial review at the leave stage; it was not deciding a full judicial review of the refusal or a new asylum claim.
The applicant argued that he should have been given an opportunity to comment on material used in the Minister’s decision, including a UK tribunal judgment published after the revocation application. The court rejected that ground, finding that the Minister was not required to debate the application or invite further comment on material relied on in deciding it. The judge distinguished asylum appeal tribunal procedures, which carry a statutory duty to provide information to an appellant.
The court also rejected the challenge to the Minister’s assessment of risk. It found that the decision addressed the applicant’s submissions, including the “Unsafe Return” material, and had a rational basis. Other grounds—including alleged bias, lack of published guidance, failure to reconsider non-refoulement issues, and the weight given to UK material—were also found not to meet the substantial-grounds threshold. One ground was withdrawn.
The court refused leave to seek judicial review. It did not quash the deportation order or the refusal to revoke it.