M v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Kazakhstan)

The Adjudicator's treatment of difficulties in Kazakhstan in the context of Article 8

(ii) The basis on which the withdrawal is being made should be carefully noted � e.g. is it because it is conceded there is effective protection or a viable internal relocation alternative or is it simply, as in most cases of this kind, because there is no Refugee Convention reason of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or particular social group (see paragraph 16 above)?

(iii) Where the withdrawal of the asylum aspect is not prima facie compatible with any continued assumption that the claimant faces Article 3 serious harm or ill-treatment if returned, the Adjudicator will be entitled to find that there is no real risk of such harm, unless there is some particular feature of the case that negatives this.

(iv) However, as a point of best practice and so as to avoid any misunderstanding, the Adjudicator should ask the appellant's representative whether, in the light of the withdrawal on asylum grounds, it is formally conceded that there is no real risk of Article 3 harm.

(v) If it is conceded that there is no Art 3 point but that there is an Art 8 point, adjudicators should not disregard evidence relating to Art 3 harm, since there are reasons why an asylum appeal might not be appropriate even though the risk of some harm remains. Even if it is accepted that the degree of treatment on return would not engage Art 3, it is possible that the hardships might be relevant to an aspect of an Art 8 claim. Any consideration of an Art 8 claim in such circumstances, must, however, be subject to the constraints set out by the Court of Appeal in Razgar [2003] INLR 543 .