LS (Uzbekistan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department

Mr. N.S. Stanage (instructed by Paragon Law) for the appellant Ms Susan Chan (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) for the respondent Hearing dates : 18th June 2008 ____________________

(i) that despite the order made by Senior Immigration Judge Drabu adjourning the reconsideration for a full hearing on all issues (including by implication the issue of the appellant's sexual orientation), the tribunal had no jurisdiction as a matter of law to re-open that question;

(ii) that the judge's finding that the appellant is not a lesbian was irrational and based to a material degree on findings that were not supported by the evidence;

(iii) that the judge failed properly to consider and evaluate the evidence bearing on the risk to the appellant of ill-treatment on her return to Uzbekistan.

because I could not understand why the rejection of the appellant's description of her sexual orientation made it any more or less likely that she had left Uzbekistan without an exit visa. However, I think Miss Chan was right in submitting that the judge was saying no more than that, having disbelieved her evidence on a matter of such central importance, he had no basis for believing her evidence on that aspect of the case either.