L v International Protection Appeals Tribunal & Anor (Approved)

                  As explained below, the claim for protection was rejected at first instance on the ground that it was not accepted that he was from Afghanistan. On appeal, that rejection was affirmed on different grounds to those relied on by the IPO. In the impugned decision the Tribunal explained that it did not accept many of the applicant's claims. The treatment of the contested facts was the focus of considerable discussion at the hearing before this court.

                  The applicant stated that he left Afghanistan on the 22 August 2021 with help provided by a family member. He travelled through Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Italy and France before arriving in this jurisdiction on the 29 March 2022. On the same date, the applicant applied for international protection.

                  The applicant completed the IPO questionnaire on the 18 May 2022, when he was not legally represented. The applicant appended a 25-page handwritten document to the questionnaire, which set out the details of his claim. A further document was also provided which outlined the documentation with which the applicant intended to support his claim.

                  The IPO questionnaire is a standard form questionnaire which requires the applicant to provide various personal details as well as details relating to their particular application. While the form provides space to complete each question, the applicant is permitted to expand on their responses using supplemental paper. For this purpose, the applicant appended 25-pages addressing several sections of the questionnaire.

                  In the questionnaire, the applicant stated that he was born in May 2000, he identified the village where he was born and provided details about his family. He stated that his father had died a number of years previously, he was an only child, and he identified his mother as his dependent and that he had a fear that she would also be subject to persecution.