The High Court has dismissed a judicial review challenging the decision to treat an Iranian man’s international protection application in Ireland as inadmissible after Greece had granted him refugee status. The court reviewed the decision of the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT), not the separate deportation proposal that remained outstanding.
The judgment says the applicant arrived in Ireland on 16 January 2019 and applied for protection, stating that he had not been granted refugee status elsewhere. Irish authorities discovered through Eurodac enquiries that Greece had granted him refugee status on 31 January 2018. Greece declined to take him back under the Dublin III system because his application there had already been finalised.
The International Protection Office declared the Irish application inadmissible on 20 May 2019. IPAT affirmed that decision on 4 September 2019. The applicant sought judicial review, arguing, among other things, that the tribunal had assessed conditions in Greece irrationally, given inadequate reasons, failed to properly consider his evidence and should have held an oral hearing or sought assurances from Greece.
The judgment records the applicant’s claims that he did not speak Greek, had mental health issues, had previously lacked accommodation and healthcare in Greece, and faced overcrowded accommodation. The tribunal noted that he had not provided documents about his circumstances or efforts to obtain accommodation, and relied on more recent country information than one report submitted by the applicant. The judge held that the tribunal could find the evidence did not establish the particularly high level of severity required to show a risk of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment under EU law.
The court also said the challenged decision did not order a transfer or removal. The minister’s deportation proposal was a separate process, and the court said the case had not reached the removal stage at which the cited European Convention on Human Rights argument could apply. Under the legislation, IPAT had to decide this type of appeal without an oral hearing. The judge found no obligation in the circumstances to seek assurances or further information from Greece.
The court dismissed the application. It did not decide the outstanding deportation proposal.