The High Court has refused Adriana Borta’s application for judicial review of the Minister for Justice and Equality’s decision not to grant her a certificate of naturalisation.
In an ex tempore judgment delivered on 23 March 2018, Mr Justice David Keane rejected her challenges to the decision dated 16 May 2017. The court refused the application for certiorari, which sought to quash that decision.
Borta, a minor represented by her mother and next friend, applied for naturalisation under section 16 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956. The Minister accepted that she had Irish associations through her blood relationship with her Irish citizen sister, but concluded those associations were not strong enough to warrant granting a certificate using the Minister’s discretion.
The judgment records that Borta was born in Moldova in 2003 and came to Ireland in 2012. At the time of her application in January 2017, she had lived in the State for about four and a half years, was in full-time education and had a two-year-old Irish citizen sister.
Borta argued that the Minister’s reasoning wrongly treated her as ineligible, despite accepting that she had Irish associations. The judge rejected that reading of the submission to the Minister, finding it acknowledged the association and recommended refusing the application because it was not considered strong enough to justify exercising the discretion in her favour. He also rejected the related claim that the decision breached section 16(2).
The court dismissed Borta’s argument that the Minister had failed to give adequate reasons. It held that the explanation, though succinct, disclosed the essential rationale: her Irish associations were not considered strong enough to warrant naturalisation.
The judge also rejected the claim that this conclusion was irrational or unreasonable. He said the strength of Irish associations need not be assessed by degree of blood relationship alone. Other relevant considerations could include the duration of residence and relationships, the number of Irish citizen relatives, and the applicant’s cultural, social or economic ties to the State. Having Irish associations made an applicant eligible for consideration under section 16; it did not create an entitlement to a certificate.
The court further rejected arguments that the Minister had to list every possible factor considered, and that the refusal was unlawful because Borta’s mother believed other applications based on sibling relationships had succeeded. The application was refused.