The court considered whether refugees in transit, who were apprehended and charged for entering or attempting to enter the UK with fraudulent documents, were entitled to the protection of article 31(1) of the UN Convention relating to the status of refugees.
The court found that article 31(1) provided immunity for genuine refugees whose quest for asylum involved them breaching the law. Furthermore, it was held that article 31(1) requirements of “coming directly”, “present themselves without delay” and “good cause” should not be interpreted strictly. The scope of its protection and the circumstances under which refugees often flee from persecution allowed some variation. The court stated that decisions to prosecute asylum-seekers should be made only in the clearest of cases and where the offence is unrelated to a genuine quest for asylum.
The court held that the applicants were entitled to the exemption from penalty afforded by article 31(1) of the Convention. The court ordered that the prosecution against the first applicant be discontinued. There was no relief granted in respect of the other two applicants, who had already served their respective sentences.
Refugees in transit; using false documents; exemption from penalties
This case consisted of three separate applications, with distinct factual backgrounds. They were heard together because each of the three applicants fled persecution in their home countries. The applicants were arrested, prosecuted, and charged for traveling to, or attempting to travel from, the UK with fraudulent documents. The applicants argued that they had been wrongly denied the protection conferred by article 31 (exemption from the penalties which may be imposed for the use of such false documents).
The application was successful, with costs being ordered against the Secretary of State and the Director of Public Prosecutions, without distinction, leaving it to them to decide how to fund it.
The decision to prosecute the applicants was contrary to Article 31 of the Convention, which exempts asylum seekers from facing penalties for using false documentation when entering a country.