RP000612018

This case concerns whether the judge below was justified in departing from the relevant country guidance. This is an appeal of the Secretary of State against a decision of First-tier Tribunal Judge Bird promulgated on 20 February 2019 allowing the claimant's appeal against the Secretary of State's decision to refuse to revoke the deportation order made against him and to revoke his protection status.

The basis upon which the Secretary of State revoked the claimant's refugee status was that the circumstances in which he was recognised as a refugee had ceased to exist, pursuant to paragraph 339A(vi) of the Immigration Rules, which give effect to Article 1C(5) of the Refugee Convention. The Secretary of State based his decision on MOJ & Ors (Return to Mogadishu) Somalia CG [2014] UKUT 442 (IAC) , to which we return in more detail below.

The claimant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal against the 10 April 2018 decision. Judge Bird allowed his appeal on the basis that conditions in Mogadishu and Somalia generally had changed since MOJ , such that a departure from the country guidance was merited. The claimant succeeded on Article 3 grounds in any event in the alternative.

Permission to appeal was granted by Upper Tribunal Judge Hansen on the basis that it was arguable that there was insufficient evidence to merit a departure from MOJ . As such, the Judge's findings at [63] that the respondent had not demonstrated that there had been a durable and permanent change were arguably infected by the erroneous departure from the country guidance.

In addition to the materials that were before the First-tier Tribunal, we have been provided with written submissions by the Secretary of State, and a response under rule 24 of the Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) Rules 2008 from the claimant.