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01/04/2022
IE: The High Court confirmed that the evidence presented by the applicant lacked detail and specificity, and the applicant's failure to seek protection in a safe country (namely Austria) diminished the applicant's credibility with regard to the claims of persecution based on sexual orientation.

ECLI
Input Provided By
EUAA Courts and Tribunals Network
Other Source/Information
Type
Judgment
Original Documents
Relevant Legislative Provisions
National law only (in case there is no reference to EU law/ECHR)
Reference
Ireland, High Court, G.K. v International Protection Appeals Tribunal & Ors, [2022] IEHC 204, 01 April 2022. Link redirects to the English summary in the EUAA Case Law Database.
Permanent link to the case
https://caselaw.euaa.europa.eu/pages/viewcaselaw.aspx?CaseLawID=3064
Case history
Other information
Abstract

According to the summary provided by the EUAA Courts and Tribunals Network:


"The applicant was a Georgian national who claimed a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of sexual orientation. The Tribunal rejected the credibility of the claim on grounds including inconsistencies in the narrative, vagueness and the applicant’s failure to seek protection in Austria. The rationale of the decision is a determination by the Court that the application was made out of time and the refusal of the Court to extend the time limit. However, Barr J. stated that the Tribunal’s decision would have been upheld in any event.


The individual negative credibility findings made by the Tribunal were not irrational as contended by the applicant. The Tribunal was entitled to state that the applicant’s evidence was lacking in detail and specificity when taken as a whole. Referring to O.M.A. (Sierra Leone) v. Refugee Appeals Tribunal [2018] IEHC 370, Barr J. found that the Tribunal was entitled to make general comments on the evidence before it. The Court also upheld the right of the Tribunal to take into account the failure of an applicant to seek protection in a safe country when assessing credibility.


Certiorari refused."


Country of Decision
Ireland
Court Name
IE: High Court
Case Number
[2022] IEHC 204
Date of Decision
01/04/2022
Country of Origin
Georgia
Keywords
Credibility
Gender identity / Gender expression / Sexual Orientation / SOGIESC
Vulnerable Group