The High Court has refused an applicant’s request to quash a December 2015 decision of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (RAT), which had affirmed an earlier decision by the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC). The judicial review challenge concerned the tribunal’s assessment of the applicant’s credibility and claimed home area.
The applicant, identified in the judgment as OO, is a Nigerian national who claimed to come from Baga Town. The judgment records that he gave different dates of birth and accounts of his journey to Ireland. The tribunal found that he had not established his general credibility, citing those inconsistencies, a delay of more than a year in seeking international protection, and a lack of detail in his account.
The applicant argued that the tribunal had irrationally referred to an absence of independent identity evidence despite a letter from UK Visas and Immigration dated 3 June 2014. The High Court found that the tribunal had considered the letter. It said the statement that the applicant had not provided identity documentation was factually correct: the letter had not been submitted by him, and he continued to give a different account of his travel until its contents were put to him at interview.
The applicant also challenged the tribunal’s assessment of his knowledge of the geography around Baga Town, including its reference to a large lake near the town. The court noted that ORAC had raised the lake in its earlier decision and that the applicant had an opportunity to address the issue at the tribunal hearing on 2 December 2015. No evidence on his home area was led by his representative, and the tribunal’s questions seeking more detail had not produced further information.
The applicant sought permission to introduce evidence in the High Court that Baga Town was close to a river. The judge considered that an attempt to supplement the evidence would turn the judicial review into an appeal against the tribunal’s decision. The court said the material before the tribunal, including maps and country-of-origin information, supported the view that Baga Town was close to a large lake.
The High Court rejected the challenge and refused the relief sought. It clarified that the tribunal had made no finding of fact that Baga Town sat on Lake Chad: its only stated factual finding was that the applicant was a Nigerian national.