STATUTORY INSTRUMENT

S.I. No. 571 of 2002 .

REFUGEE ACT, 1996 (APPEALS) REGULATIONS, 2002

Published by the Stationery Office, Dublin

To be purchased direct from the Government Publications Sales Office,

Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.

or through any bookseller.

S.I. No. 571 of 2002

Refugee Act, 1996 (Appeals) Regulations, 2002

1. Michael Mc Dowell, T.D., Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 23 of the Refugee Act, 1996 ( No. 17 of 1996 ), as adapted by the Justice (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 298 of 1997 ), make the following Regulations:

PART 1

General

Citation, commencement and revocation

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Refugee Act, 1996 (Appeals) Regulations 2002.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on 13 December 2002.

(3) The Refugee Act, 1996 (Appeals) Regulations 2000 ( S.I. No. 342 of 2000 ) are revoked.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, “the Act of 1996” means No. 17 of 1996 ), as amended by the Immigration Act 1999 ( No. 22 of 1999 ) and the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 ( No. 29 of 2000 );

“section 16” means section 16 of the Act of 1996 as amended by the Immigration Act 1999 and the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 .

(2) In these Regulations--

(a) a reference to a Regulation or Schedule is a reference to a Regulation or a Schedule to these Regulations, unless it is indicated that a reference to some other Regulation or Schedule is intended, and

(b) a reference to a paragraph or a subparagraph is a reference to a paragraph or subparagraph of the Regulation or Schedule in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that a reference to some other Regulation or Schedule is intended.

Business of the Tribunal

3. The Tribunal shall, in arranging its business, have regard to the desirability of disposing of appeals with due expedition consistent with fairness and natural justice.

Withdrawal of appeal

4. Where an appeal is withdrawn pursuant to section 16(9) of the Act of 1996, the Tribunal shall notify the Minister and the Commissioner of the withdrawal.

Decisions

5. A decision of the Tribunal under section 16(2)(a), (b), (c) or (d) of the Act of 1996 shall be in the form set out in Schedule 2, Schedule 3, Schedule 4 and Schedule 5 respectively or a form to the like effect.

Corrections

6. (1) The Tribunal may correct any error or omission in any decision made by the Tribunal under the Act of 1996.

(2) A correction made under paragraph (1) shall be notified to the applicant and his or her legal representative (if any), the Minister, the Commissioner and the High Commissioner.

Notices etc.

7. (1) Notices, representations in writing or documents required or authorised by these Regulations to be sent or given to the Tribunal shall be deemed to have been duly sent or given if directed to the Chairperson, Refugee Appeals Tribunal, and

(a) sent by registered post,

or

(b) sent by fax, where confirmed by a successful transmission report,

or

(c) delivered to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal, where the applicant has a receipt for the delivery, issued by the Tribunal.

(2) Where a notice is required or authorised by these Regulations to be served on or given to a person, it shall be addressed to him or her and shall be served on or given to him or her in one of the following ways:

(a) where it is addressed to him or her by name, by delivering it to him or her, or

(b) by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter, or by any other form of recorded delivery service prescribed by the Minister, addressed to him or her at the address most recently furnished by him or her to the Commissioner or, in the case of his or her legal representative, if any, at his or her address, or, in a case in which an address for service has been furnished, at that address.

(3) Where a notice under these Regulations has been sent to a person in accordance with subparagraph (2)(b), the notice is deemed to have been duly served on or given to the person on the third working day after the day on which it was so sent.

PART 2

Appeal against recommendation that applicant should not be granted refugee status

Interpretation (Part 2)

8. In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires, “an appeal” means an appeal under section 16 of the Act of 1996 against a recommendation of the Commissioner under section 13 of the Act of 1996.

Form of appeal

9. (1) An appeal shall be in the form set out in Part 1 of Schedule 1.

(2) The Tribunal shall fix a time and date for an oral hearing and shall, not less than 7 working days before such date, send notice of the time and date for the oral hearing to the applicant and his or her legal representative, if any, and a copy of the notice shall be sent to the Commissioner, and the notice shall include the names of any witness(es) directed by the Tribunal to attend the oral hearing.

(3) (a)  Where the notice of appeal includes a request to the Tribunal to direct the attendance of a witness before the Tribunal, the Tribunal shall in respect of each such witness determine whether he or she should in accordance with section 16(11) of the Act of 1996 be directed to attend before the Tribunal.

(b)  In making a determination under subparagraph (a), the Tribunal shall have regard to the nature and purpose of the evidence proposed to be given by the witness as indicated in the notice of appeal.

(c)  Where the Tribunal determines that a witness should attend before it, it shall direct the witness to attend in accordance with section 16(11) of the Act of 1996.

Conduct of oral hearing

10. (1) In conducting an oral hearing the Tribunal shall--

(a)  ensure that the applicant, his or her legal representative, if any, the Commissioner and the High Commissioner, if present, are informed of the order of proceedings which the Tribunal proposes to adopt:

(b)  conduct the oral hearing as informally as is practicable, and consistent with fairness and transparency;

(c)  decide the order of appearance of the applicant and the Commissioner and any witness(es):

(d)  ensure that the oral hearing proceeds with due expedition:

(e)  allow for the questioning of the applicant, any witness(es) and the Commissioner; and

(f)  ensure that a witness shall be present at the oral hearing only for the duration of his or her evidence.

(2) In paragraph (1) references to the Commissioner include references to a member of the staff of the Commissioner who is authorised by him or her to attend the oral hearing.

Hearing cases together

11. In the case of an oral hearing where it appears to the Tribunal that in two or more appeal cases--

(a) some common matter arises in both or all of them;

(b) they relate to members of the same family; or

(c) it is otherwise reasonable and just that the appeals should be heard together.

the Tribunal may, subject to the agreement of the applicants concerned and the Commissioner, hear the appeals together.

Adjournment of oral hearing

12. Where the Tribunal is satisfied that an oral hearing of the Tribunal should be adjourned in the interests of justice, the Tribunal may adjourn the oral hearing to a specified date.

Failure to attend oral hearing

13. Where the applicant fails to attend an oral hearing or a resumed oral hearing at the appointed date and time, the Tribunal shall treat his or her case as one to which section 16(2A) of the Act of 1996 applies unless the applicant, where he or she has not already done so, within 3 working days after the date of the oral hearing or resumed oral hearing, as the case may be, furnishes the Tribunal with an explanation which satisfies the Tribunal that he or she had reasonable cause for not attending.

Withdrawal of Request for Oral Hearing

14.  The applicant may withdraw a request for an oral hearing by giving written notice to the Tribunal not later than 3 working days before the hearing date. The written notice must set out the reasons for the withdrawal.

PART 3

Appeal against recommendation that application is manifestly unfounded

Form of appeal

15. An appeal under section 16 of the Act of 1996 against a recommendation of the Commissioner under section 12 (manifestly unfounded applications) of the Act of 1996 shall be in the form set out in Part 2 of Schedule 1.

SCHEDULE 1

Part 1

(Form 1)

Refugee Appeals Tribunal

NOTICE OF APPEAL

against a recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner made under section 13(3)(b) of the Refugee Act 1996

1.          Personal details relating to the applicant(s) lodging this appeal:

1.4        Address: ___________________________________

1.5  Telephone Number (if any): ____________________________________

Note: Correspondence relating to your appeal will be sent to the address which you are required to furnish to the Refugee Applications Commissioner under section 9(4A) of the Refugee Act 1996 unless you put down on this form a different address for service of notices for the purposes of your appeal before the Refugee Appeals Tribunal or indicate that you wish all correspondence to be sent to your legal representative. You must also inform the Tribunal of any change of address to any address provided here. Your attention is drawn to Regulation 7 of the Refugee Act 1996 (Appeals) Regulations 2002.

1.6        Nationality:

1.7        Temporary Residence Certificate Number:

1.8        Personal Public Service (P.P.S. N.) Number:

1.9        Supplementary Welfare Payment Centre:

1.10      Personal and Family Details:

Name of your spouse (as applicable):________________________

Details of all family members - spouse and children - living in the State:

You may use additional or separate pages, if necessary, but, if so, both you and your legal representative, if any, should sign the bottom of each additional page.

2.          Legal Representation

2.1        Do you have legal representation? Yes:    No:    (tick as appropriate).

If yes, please complete the following:

If you instruct a legal representative at a later stage of your appeal you should inform the Refugee Appeals Tribunal of this immediately and provide details as in this section of the form.

3.          Grounds of Appeal

3.1        On what grounds do you claim to have a well-founded fear of being persecuted? Please tick the relevant box below.

3.2         Please state clearly and concisely the grounds on which you are seeking to appeal the recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner.

The grounds of the appeal should indicate

(a)    to what extent (if any) you contend that the recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, a copy of which has been provided to you, erred in fact.

(b)    to what extent (if any) you contend that the recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner a copy of which has been provided to you, erred in the application of the relevant law:

(c)    any additional information.

Ground 1:______________________________________________________________________________

Ground 2:______________________________________________________________________________

Ground 3:___________________________________________________________________________etc.

You may use additional or separate pages, if necessary but, if so, both you and your legal representative, if any, should sign the bottom of each additional page.

All grounds of appeal and documentation (see section 5 below) on which you intend to rely in your appeal must accompany this notice of appeal and (if applicable) the relevant parts must be clearly indicated accordingly. If you are submitting information which was not available to the Refugee Applications Commissioner, you must state why this was so and also the precise relevance of this information to your case.

4.          Oral Hearing

4.1        Do you wish to have an oral hearing in connection with your appeal?

Please note that if you do not request an oral hearing, the Tribunal will consider your appeal on the basis of this appeal form and the documentation supplied by you and by the Refugee Applications Commissioner.

4.2        If yes. do you require an interpreter?

4.3        If yes, please specify the precise language or dialect for which you require interpretation.          ____________________________________

Where an interpreter is required, the applicant's attention is drawn to section 16(11)(d) of the Refugee Act 1996 which states the following:

“The Tribunal shall where necessary, use its almost endeavours to procure the attendance of an interpreter to assist at the hearing”.

You may withdraw a request for an oral hearing by giving written notice to the Tribunal not later than three working days before the hearing date. The written notice must set out the reasons for such withdrawal.

5.          Documentation

Please list here all documents and or records on which you propose to rely for the purposes of your appeal. These documents must accompany this form.

Where documentation has already been supplied to the Refugee Applications Commissioner in connection with the investigation of your application, or is otherwise available to the Commissioner the Commissioner will make it available directly to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal: there is no need for you to provide fresh copies

Please note that all documentation on which you intend to rely and which has not already been supplied to, or is otherwise not available to the Commissioner, must accompany this notice of appeal and (if applicable) the relevant parts must be clearly indicated.

Where possible, original documentation should be provided.

Please note that where a record submitted is a medical record it must be supported by a report of a medical practitioner. These documents must be original versions.

Where a record submitted is a video tape or audio tape it should be accompanied by such documentation verifying its authenticity or reliability as may be available. Please support this form of submission by indicating the nature and purpose of the record.

Document

1:_______________________________________________________________________________

Document

2:_______________________________________________________________________________

Document

3:_______________________________________________________________________________

etc.

You may use additional or separate pages, if necessary but, if so, both you and your legal representative, if any, should sign the bottom of each additional page.

6.          Submissions at oral hearing

If you have indicated under section 4 of this form that you wish to have your appeal dealt with by way of oral hearing you must provide a brief note setting out the main submissions to be made at the hearing and any authorities which will be relied on in support of those submissions, clearly indicating where applicable, any particular passages to be relied on.

Submission

1:_______________________________________________________________________________

Submission

2:_______________________________________________________________________________

Submission

3:____________________________________________________________________________etc.

Authority

1:_______________________________________________________________________________

Authority

2:_______________________________________________________________________________

Authority

3:____________________________________________________________________________etc.

You may use additional or separate pages, if necessary, but if so, both you and your legal representative, if any, should sign the bottom of each additional page.

7.          Witnesses

Please supply the name, address and telephone number of witness(es) whom it is proposed to call to give evidence at the oral hearing. Please state clearly the nature, purpose and relevance of the evidence proposed to be given by the witness(es).

Witnesses

You may use additional or separate pages, if necessary, but, if so, both you and your legal representative, if any, should sign the bottom of each additional page.

8.          Communications to the Tribunal

All communications to the Tribunal should be sent by registered post, or faxed (and confirmed by a successful transmission report), or delivered to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (insert address here) - the Tribunal will issue you with a receipt which you should retain as proof of such delivery.

Part 2

(Form 2)

Refugee Appeals Tribunal

NOTICE OF APPEAL

against a recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner made under section 12(1)(b) of the Refugee Act 1996

1.          Personal details relating to the applicant(s) lodging this appeal:

1.4        Address: _________________________________

1.5  Telephone Number (if any):     ________________________________

Note: Correspondence relating to your appeal will be sent to the address which you are required to furnish to the Refugee Applications Commissioner under section 9(4A) of the Refugee Act 1996 unless you put down on this form a different address for service of notices for the purposes of your appeal before the Refugee Appeals Tribunal or indicate that you wish all correspondence to be sent to your legal representative. You must also inform the Tribunal of any change of address to any address provided here. Your attention is drawn to Regulation 7 of the Refugee Act 1996 (Appeals) Regulations 2002.

1.6        Nationality:

1.7        Temporary Residence Certificate Number:

1.8        Personal Public Service (P.P.S.N) Number:

1.9        Supplementary Welfare Payment Centre:

1.10      Personal and Family Details:

Name of your spouse (as applicable):_______________________

Details of all family members - spouse and children - living in the State:

You may use additional or separate pages, if necessary, but, if so, both you and your legal representative, if any, should sign the bottom of each additional page.

2.          Legal Representation

2.1        Do you have legal representation? Yes: No: (tick as appropriate):

If yes, please complete the following:

If you instruct a legal representative at a later stage of your appeal you should inform the Refugee Appeals Tribunal of this immediately and provide details as in this section of the form.

3.          Grounds of Appeal

Please state clearly and concisely the grounds on which you are seeking to appeal the recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (you may use additional or separate pages, if necessary, but if so, both you and your legal representative, if any, should sign the bottom of each additional page).

The grounds of the appeal should indicate

(a)             to what extent (if any) you contend that the relevant provisions of section 12(4) of the Refugee Act, 1996 as specified in the recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, a copy of which has been provided to you, should not apply to your case:

(b)            any additional information.

Ground

1:________________________________________________________________________________

Ground

2:________________________________________________________________________________

Ground

3:______________________________________________________________________________etc.

All grounds of appeal and documentation (see section 4 below) on which you intend to rely in your appeal must accompany this notice of appeal and (if applicable) the relevant parts must be clearly indicated accordingly. If you are submitting information which was not available to the Refugee Applications Commissioner, you must state why this was so and also the precise relevance of this information to your case.

4.          Documentation

Please list here all documents and or records on which you propose to rely for the purposes of your appeal. These documents must accompany this form.

Where documentation has already been supplied to the Refugee Applications Commissioner in connection with the investigation of your application, or is otherwise available to the Commissioner, the Commissioner will make it available directly to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal: there is no need for you to provide fresh copies.

Please note that all documentation on which you intend to rely and which has not already been supplied to, or is otherwise not available to the Commissioner, must accompany this notice of appeal and (if applicable) the relevant parts must be clearly indicated.

Where possible, original documentation should be provided.

Please not that where a record submitted is a medical record it must be supported by a report of a medical practitioner These documents must be original versions.

Where a record submitted is a video tape or audio tape it should be accompanied by such documentation verifying its authenticity or reliability as may be available. Please support this form of submission by indicating the nature and purpose of the record.

Document

1:________________________________________________________________________________

Document

2:________________________________________________________________________________

Document

3:________________________________________________________________________________

etc.

You may use additional or separate pages, if necessary but, if so, both you and your legal representative, if any, should sign the bottom of each additional page.

5.          Communications to the Tribunal

All communications to the Tribunal should be sent by registered post, or faxed (and confirmed by a successful transmission report), or delivered to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (insert address here) - the Tribunal will issue you with a receipt which you should retain as proof of such delivery.

SCHEDULE 2

Refugee Appeals Tribunal

Refugee Act 1996, as amended by section 11 of the Immigration Act 1999 and section 9 of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 :

Re: Decision of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal under section 16(2)(a) of the Refugee Act 1996 .

The Tribunal has decided to affirm the recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner given on (insert date) under section 13 of the Act of 1996 that you should not be declared to be a refugee.

This decision was reached having considered the following matters:

▪           your notice of appeal under section 16(3) of the Act of 1996 and the grounds thereof submitted with the notice, including all supporting documentation and records:

▪           the report and recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner under section 13 of the Act of 1996:

▪           all documents, representations in writing and other information submitted to the Refugee Applications Commissioner in connection with your case as provided for under section 11 of the Act of 1996 and which have been previously furnished to you or your legal representative (if any);

▪           the documents submitted with your appeal (if applicable);

▪           the observations of the Refugee Applications Commissioner in relation to the matters arising on your grounds of appeal which were previously furnished to you or your legal representative (if applicable);

▪           the observations of the High Commissioner (if applicable);

▪           the evidence adduced at your appeal and the representations made concerning your application at that hearing (if applicable).

The Tribunal is satisfied that you are not a refugee within the meaning of section 2 of the Refugee Act 1996 for the following reasons:

(Here state reasons applicable to the case concerned)

The decision of the Tribunal has been communicated to the High Commissioner and a copy of the decision has been forwarded to your legal representative (if applicable), the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

A representative of the Minister will be in contact with you further concerning your case.

__________________________________

Signed: (name and rank)

Date:

SCHEDULE 3

Refugee Appeals Tribunal

Refugee Act 1996, as amended by section 11 of the Immigration Act 1999 and section 9 of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 :

Re: Decision of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal under section 16(2)(b) of the Refugee Act 1996 .

The Tribunal has decided to set aside the recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner given on (insert date) under section 13 of the Act of 1996 that you should not be declared to be a refugee. It is, therefore, the recommendation of the Tribunal that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform declare you to be a refugee under section 17 of the Refugee Act 1996 .

The decision of the Tribunal recommending that you be declared to be a refugee was arrived at having considered the following matters:

▪     your notice of appeal under section 16(3) of the Act of 1996 and the grounds thereof submitted with the notice, including all supporting documentation and records;

▪     the report and recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner under section 13 of the Act of 1996;

▪     all documents, representations in writing and other information submitted to the Refugee Applications Commissioner in connection with your case as provided for under section 11 of the Act of 1996 and which have been previously furnished to you or your legal representative (if any);

▪     the observations of the Refugee Applications Commissioner in relation to the matters arising on your grounds of appeal which were previously furnished to you or your legal representative (if applicable);

▪     the documents submitted with your appeal (if applicable);

▪     the observations of the High Commissioner (if applicable);

▪     the evidence adduced at your appeal and the representations made concerning your application at that hearing (if applicable).

The Tribunal is satisfied that you are a refugee within the meaning of section 2 of the Refugee Act 1996 for the following reasons:

(Here state reasons applicable to the case concerned)

The decision of the Tribunal has been communicated to the High Commissioner and a copy of the decision has been forwarded to your legal representative (if applicable), the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

A representative of the Minister will be in contact with you further concerning your case.

___________________

Signed: (name and rank)

Date:

SCHEDULE 4

Refugee Appeals Tribunal

Refugee Act 1996, as amended by section 11 of the Immigration Act 1999 and section 9 of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 :

Re: Decision of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal under section 16(2)(c) of the Refugee Act 1996 .

The Tribunal has decided to affirm the recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner under section 12 of the Act of 1996 that your application for refugee status is manifestly unfounded and that you should not be declared to be a refugee.

This decision was reached having considered the following matters:

▪           your notice of appeal under section 16(3) of the Act of 1996 and the grounds thereof submitted with the notice including all supporting documentation and records;

▪           the report on your application furnished to the Refugee Applications Commissioner under section 11(2) of the Act of 1996;

▪           the representations made in accordance with section 11(3) of the Act of 1996 (if applicable);

▪           the recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner made under section 12 of the Act of 1996;

▪           all documents, representations in writing or other information submitted to the Refugee Applications Commissioner in connection with your application as provided for under section 11 of the Act of 1996 and which have been previously furnished to you or your legal representative (if applicable);

▪           the observations of the Refugee Applications Commissioner in relation to the matters arising on your grounds of appeal and which were previously furnished to you or your legal representative (if applicable);

▪           the documents submitted with your appeal (if applicable);

▪           the observations of the High Commissioner (if applicable).

The Tribunal is satisfied that you are not a refugee within the meaning of section 2 of the Refugee Act 1996 for the following reasons:

(Here state reasons applicable to the case concerned)

The decision of the Tribunal has been communicated to the High Commissioner and a copy of the decision has been forwarded to your legal representative (if applicable), the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Minister for Justice. Equality and Law Reform.

A representative of the Minister will be in contact with you further concerning your case.

____________________________

Signed: (name and rank)

Date:

SCHEDULE 5

Refugee Appeals Tribunal

Refugee Act 1996, as amended by section 11 of the Immigration Act, 1999 and section 9 of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 :

Re: Decision of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal under section 16(2)(d) of the Refugee Act 1996 .

The Tribunal has decided to set aside the recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner under section 12 of the Act of 1996 that your application is manifestly unfounded and that you should not be declared to be a refugee.

This decision was reached having considered the following matters:

▪           your notice of appeal under section 16(3) of the Act of 1996 and the grounds thereof submitted with the notice including all supporting documentation and records;

▪           the report on your application furnished to the Refugee Applications Commissioner under section 11(2) of the Act of 1996;

▪           the representations made in accordance with section 11(3) of the Act of 1996 (if applicable):

▪           the recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner made under section 12 of the Act of 1996;

▪           all documents, representations in writing or other information submitted to the Refugee Applications Commissioner in connection with your application as provided for under section 11 of the Act of 1996 and which have been previously furnished to you or your legal representative (if applicable);

▪           the observations of the Refugee Applications Commissioner in relation to the matters arising on your grounds of appeal which were previously furnished to you or your legal representative (if applicable);

▪           the documents submitted with your appeal (if applicable);

▪           the observations of the High Commissioner (if applicable).

The Tribunal is satisfied that the recommendation of the Commissioner in your case should be set aside on the basis that your application does not come within the scope of section 12(4) of the above Act on the basis that ...

(set out reasons, including the text of any relevant paragraphs of s. 12(4) where appropriate).

Your application has been remitted to the Refugee Applications Commissioner for the purpose of carrying out an investigation of your application as provided for under section 11 of the above Act.

You will be contacted shortly by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner regarding your application.

__________________________

Signed: (name and rank)

Date:

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

These Regulations revoke and replace the Refugee Act, 1996 (Appeals) Regulations, 2000 ( section 16 of the Refugee Act 1996 in relation to the determination by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal of appeals against recommendations of the Refugee Applications Commissioner on applications for recognition as a refugee.

^* Address, telephone number etc.

^** Specify the precise language or dialect for which the witness will require interpretation.

^*** Delete as appropriate (please note that it is for the Tribunal to decide whether or not to direct a witness).