RY & Ors, Re Application for Judicial Review

Judicial Review of a Decision of the Secretary of State for the Home Department dated 15 July 2009

[1] This is a Petition for Judicial Review of a decision of 15 July 2009 by the Secretary of State for the Home Department to refuse to treat submissions made on the Petitioners' behalf as a fresh claim for asylum. The Petition seeks reduction of that decision. There are four Petitioners, RY, (as an individual and as the legal representative of SA), QA, ZA and MA. RY is the mother of the child SA and of the other three Petitioners.

[2] All four Petitioners and the child SA are nationals of Pakistan . They are members of the Ahmadi religion. They entered the United Kingdom on 6 October 2007 . On 8 October 2007 the First Petitioner claimed asylum for herself, with the remaining Petitioners as dependents. The claim was rejected. An appeal was marked and was heard before an Immigration Judge, who dismissed the appeal on 31 March 2008 . An application for reconsideration was made and refused. The Petitioners' rights of appeal were exhausted as at 13 May 2008 .

[4] On 30 January 2009 the agents now representing the Petitioners wrote to the Respondent with information previously obtained together with further information and submitted that this information amounted to a fresh claim not only for asylum but also breach of the Petitioner's human rights. That letter is lodged at 6/2 of Process. It is those claims that were rejected by the Respondent on 15 July 2009 .

The Legal framework [6] Both Counsel agreed that Rule 353 of the Immigration Rules provides the legal framework within which a decision on a possible fresh claim for asylum must be made by the Respondent. Rule 353 provides;-