Aliens — Asylum applicant — Determination of refugee status — Exclusion from protection due to commission of international crimes — Membership of organization that has committed international crimes not sufficient

International criminal law — Individual responsibility — Joint criminal enterprise — War crimes — Crimes against humanity

Relationship of international law and municipal law — Refugee or Person in Need of International Protection (Qualification) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/2525) — United Kingdom domestic law

Treaties — Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 — Statute of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia, 1993 — Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 1998 — Council Directive 2004/83/EC (“Qualification Directive”) — The law of England

Aliens — Asylum — Human rights — Refugee status — Protection from well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion — Homosexual persons as a “particular group” — Test to apply in determining whether a homosexual asylum claimant entitled to asylum

Relationship of international law and municipal law — Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 — United Kingdom domestic law — Test devised in J v. SSHD for determining whether homosexual asylum claimant entitled to asylum — Whether proper test — Whether contrary to ordinary meaning of “refugee” — Whether contrary to object and purpose of Refugee Convention

Treaties — Interpretation — Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 — Object and purpose of Refugee Convention — Article 1A — Whether homosexual persons a “particular social group” in need of international protection — Whether applicants having well-founded fear of persecution — Whether test devised in J v. SSHD proper test — The law of England

Aliens — Asylum — Human rights — Refugee status — Protection from well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion — Difference between recognition as a refugee and grant of asylum — Whether recognition of status as a refugee compelling a grant of asylum — Article 32 of Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 — Degree of attachment to receiving State necessary for attracting greater protection of Article 32

Relationship of international law and municipal law — Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951, Articles 32 and 33 — Article 32 obligation of Contracting States not to expel a refugee “lawfully in their territory” — Meaning of “lawfully in their territory” — Article 33 obligation of non-refoulement — Expulsion of refugee to a safe third State — European Convention on Human Rights, 1950 — Immigration Act 1971 — Human Rights Act 1998 — Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 — Refugee or Person in Need of International Protection (Qualification) Regulations 2006 — Immigration Rules — United Kingdom domestic law — United Kingdom’s obligations under Refugee Convention

Treaties — Interpretation — Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951, Article 32 — Meaning of words “lawfully in their territory” in Article 32 — European Convention on Human Rights, 1950 — Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 1969, Article 31(1) — The law of England

Aliens — Asylum applicant — Determination of refugee status — Exclusion from refugee status if serious reasons for considering persons have committed international crime — Standard of proof — “Serious reasons for considering” — International criminal law — Crimes against humanity — “Other inhumane acts” — “Similar character” of “other inhumane acts” to individually defined crimes against humanity — Great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health

Treaties — Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 — Article 1F(a) — Exclusion from refugee status if serious reasons for considering persons have committed an international crime — Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 1998 — Article 7(1) — Crimes against humanity

International criminal law — Crimes against humanity — Other inhumane acts of a similar character — Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 1998 — Article 7(1) — Whether serious reasons for considering asylum applicant complicit in inhumane acts of similar character to crimes against humanity — Whether falling within Article 1F(a) of Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 — Whether applicant excluded from refugee status — The law of England

Aliens — Asylum seekers — Determination of refugee status — Protection from well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion — Whether right to hold a political opinion encompassing right not to hold a political opinion — Political neutrality and imputed political opinion — Entitlement to refugee status for politically neutral asylum seekers — Whether any distinction within right to hold or not hold a political opinion — Whether asylum claim defeated by requirement that an asylum seeker forfeit a fundamental human right to avoid persecution

Relationship of international law and municipal law — Treaties — Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 — Whether claimants having well-founded fear of persecution on ground stated in Refugee Convention — United Kingdom domestic law — Principle in HJ (Iran) — Applicability to claimants’ cases — The law of England

Aliens — Refugees — Asylum applicants — Determination of refugee status — Exclusion from protection due to commission of international crimes — Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 — Article 1F(c) — Whether acts of terrorism requiring “international dimension” to constitute “acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations” — Whether armed attacks against an armed, United Nations-mandated force in principle falling within Article 1F(c) — Standard of proof — Whether “serious reasons for considering” equivalent to a criminal standard of proof — Whether membership of organization that has committed international crimes sufficient

International organizations — United Nations — Principles and purposes — United Nations Charter, Article 1 — Security Council — United Nations forces — Conflict in Afghanistan — International Security Assistance Force (“ISAF”) — Authorization by Security Council — Whether attacks on ISAF acts contrary to the purposes of the United Nations — Refugee Convention, Article 1F(c)

Relationship of international law and municipal law — Treaties — Interpretation — Charter of the United Nations, Articles 1 and 2 — Purposes and principles of the United Nations — Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 — Article 1F(c) — Terrorism Act 2000, Section 1 — Whether activities defined as terrorism under domestic law contrary to purposes and principles of United Nations — Whether activities having to constitute threat to international peace and security or to peaceful relations between nations to fall within Article 1F(c) of Refugee Convention — Whether armed attacks against armed, United Nations-mandated force falling within Article 1F(c) of Refugee Convention

Terrorism — Definition — Position under domestic law — Position under international law — Whether terrorist activities contrary to principles and purposes of United Nations — Whether international dimension or repercussions for international peace and security necessary — Whether activities falling within Article 1F(c) of Refugee Convention — The law of England

State immunity — Jurisdictional immunity — Whether State indirectly impleaded — Action in English courts against United Kingdom government departments and officials — Action requiring English court to decide whether acts allegedly performed by foreign States unlawful — Whether foreign States indirectly impleaded — Whether State immunity applicable — State Immunity Act 1978 — United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and their Property, 2004 — Relationship between act of State doctrine and State immunity

Relationship of international law and municipal law — Act of State and non-justiciability — Nature of act of State doctrine — Limitations on doctrine — Public policy — International law — Grave violations of human rights — Whether doctrine applicable to alleged acts of abduction and torture — Whether doctrine applicable to acts allegedly carried out by officials of one State towards nationals of another State outside the territory of the first State — Whether relevant acts possessing sovereign character — Relationship between act of State doctrine and State immunity

Human rights — Enforcement — Proceedings in national courts — Justiciability — Prohibition of torture — Prohibition of arbitrary detention — Proceedings against United Kingdom government departments and officials — Allegations of complicity in unlawful rendition and treatment — Whether justiciable — The law of England

Damages — Recovery of damages for torture and extrajudicial killing — Meaning of “individual” in context of respondents to claims — Scope of potential respondents in actions for damages — Torture Victim Protection Act 1991 (“TVPA”)

Human rights — Prohibition on torture and extrajudicial killing — Actions for damages for torture and extrajudicial killing — TVPA — Scope — Whether authorizing actions against natural persons only

Relationship of international law and municipal law — United States Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — TVPA — Meaning of “individual” in context of respondents to claims — Principles of interpretation — Whether ordinary usage to be favoured in absence of contrary indication — The law of the United States