Sivakumar v Secretary of State for the Home Department: CA 24 Jul 2001

The applicant for asylum was a Tamil. He was persecuted. He claimed it was political. The possibility of drawing that inference was greater when legal mis-treatment was not expected to be followed by legal proceedings. Excessive or arbitrary punishment for political offences did not necessarily amount to persecution for a Convention reason, but it did raise a strong inference of persecution. A person to whom a political opinion was imputed or who was of a race or social group subject to sanctions that did not apply generally in a state, was more likely than not to have been the subject of discrimination and persecution.

Judges:

Lord Justice Thorpe, Lord Justice Dyson and Mr Justice Wright

Citations:

Gazette 13-Sep-2001, Times 07-Nov-2001, [2001] EWCA Civ 1196, [2002] INLR 310

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) (Cmd 9171)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appealed toRegina v Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte Sivakumar HL 20-Mar-2003
The appellant sought asylum. He had fled Sri Lanka. He was a Tamil and feared torture if he returned. His application had been rejected because the consequences flowed from his suspected involvement in terrorism, and that was not a Convention . .

Cited by:

AdoptedSepet and Bulbil v Secretary of State for the Home Department HL 20-Mar-2003
The appellants sought asylum. They were Kurdish pacifists, and claimed that they would be forced into the armed forces on pain of imprisonment if they were returned to Turkey.
Held: The concept of ‘persecution’ was central. It is necessary to . .
Appeal fromRegina v Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte Sivakumar HL 20-Mar-2003
The appellant sought asylum. He had fled Sri Lanka. He was a Tamil and feared torture if he returned. His application had been rejected because the consequences flowed from his suspected involvement in terrorism, and that was not a Convention . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Immigration

Updated: 31 May 2022; Ref: scu.147634