Assessment of Application
INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION ACT 2015
REVISED
Updated to 31 January 2024
An Act to restate and modify certain aspects of the law relating to the entry into and presence in the State of persons in need of international protection, while having regard also to the power of the Executive in relation to these matters, to give further effect to Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 20011 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof, to give further effect to Council Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 20042 on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection granted, to give further effect to Council Directive 2005/85/EC of 1 December 20053 on minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status, to give further effect to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on the 28th day of July 1951 and the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees done at New York on the 31st day of January 1967, to amend the Immigration Act 1999, the Immigration Act 2003 and the Immigration Act 2004, to amend or repeal certain other enactments, and to provide for related matters.
[30 th December, 2015]
Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:
Annotations
Modifications (not altering text):
C1
Act applied with modifications (6.03.2018) by European Union (Dublin System) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 62 of 2018), regs. 12(2), 15.
Applicant under section 8 of the Refugee Act 1996 or under section 15 of Act of 2015 to whom Article 18(1)(c) applies
12. …
(2) A person to whom this Regulation applies shall, notwithstanding section 22 of the Act of 2015, but without prejudice to section 21 of that Act, be deemed to have made, on the date on which this Regulation first applies to him or her, an application for international protection under section 15 of that Act, and, subject to this Regulation, the provisions of that Act shall, with any necessary modifications, apply accordingly.
…
Person to whom Regulation 13(2) or 14(2) applies.
15. Where a person is deemed under Regulation 13(2) or 14(2) to have made an application for international protection under section 15 of the Act of 2015, the provisions of that Act shall apply to the application, with the following modifications and any other necessary modifications—
(a) the application shall be deemed not to be an application for status in the State as a refugee on the basis of a refugee declaration but to be an application only for status in the State as a person eligible for subsidiary protection on the basis of a subsidiary protection declaration,
(b) for the purposes of the examination under Part 5 of that Act of the application, the person shall be deemed to be a person who should not be given a refugee declaration,
(c) for the purposes of section 39(3) of that Act—
(i) a recommendation referred to in paragraph (a) of that subsection shall not be made in respect of the person, and
(ii) the recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, made under the Act of 1996 in respect of the person, shall be deemed to be a recommendation, referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of that subsection, of the international protection officer that the person should not be given a refugee declaration,
and
(d) an appeal to the Tribunal under section 41(1) of that Act against a recommendation under paragraph (b) or (c) of section 39(3) of that Act may be made only in respect of the part of the recommendation that recommends that the person should not be given a subsidiary protection declaration.
C2
References construed (6.03.2018) by European Union (Dublin System) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 62 of 2018), regs. 18(2), 19(2).
Provisions in relation to international protection officers
18. (1) An international protection officer shall be independent in the performance of his or her functions under these Regulations.
(2) A reference in the Act of 2015 to the functions of an international protection officer conferred on him or her by that Act shall be deemed to include a reference to the functions conferred on an international protection officer by these Regulations.
Provisions in relation to the Tribunal
19. (1) The Tribunal shall be independent in the performance of its functions under these Regulations.
(2) A reference in the Act of 2015 to—
(a) a function of the Tribunal, chairperson, deputy chairperson, registrar or a member of the Tribunal (including a reference to a function conferred by that Act) shall be deemed to include a reference to the functions conferred upon the Tribunal, chairperson, deputy chairperson, registrar or member, as the case may be, by these Regulations.
(b) the work or business of the Tribunal shall include a reference to the work or business of the Tribunal by virtue of these Regulations, and
(c) an applicant and an appeal shall include a reference to an applicant or an appeal, as the case may be, under these Regulations.
PART 1
Preliminary
Section 1
Short title and commencement
1. (1) This Act may be cited as the International Protection Act 2015.
(2) This Act comes into operation on such day or days as the Minister may, by order or orders, appoint either generally or with reference to a particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.
(3) An order under subsection (2) may, in respect of the repeal of the Act specified in section 6(1) effected by that section, appoint different days for the repeal of different provisions of that Act.
Annotations
Editorial Notes:
E1
Power pursuant to subs. (2) exercised (16.04.2018) by International Protection Act 2015 (Section 6(2)(j)) (Commencement) Order 2018 (S.I. No. 119 of 2018).
2. The 16th day of April 2018 is appointed as the day on which section 6(2)(j) of the International Protection Act 2015 (No. 66 of 2015) comes into operation.
E2
Power pursuant to subs. (2) exercised (22.12.2016 and 31.12.2016) by Protection Act 2015 (Commencement) (No. 3) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 663 of 2016).
3. The 22nd day of December 2016 is appointed as the day on which the following provisions of the Act of 2015 come into operation:
(a) section 2 (insofar as it is not already in operation);
(b) section 3;
(c) section 15(5) (insofar as it relates to prescribing a form);
(d) section 17(2) (insofar as it relates to prescribing information);
(e) section 20(1) (insofar as it relates to prescribing places of detention);
(f) section 48(7);
(g) section 48(8);
(h) section 49(10);
(i) section 51(5);
(j) section 55(3);
(k) section 55(4);
(l) section 61(2).
4. The 31st day of December 2016 is appointed as the day on which the Act of 2015 (other than paragraphs (b), (f), (i), (j), (l), (m), and (p) of section 6(2)), insofar as it is not already in operation, comes into operation.
E3
Power pursuant to subs. (2) exercised (10.03.2016) by International Protection Act 2015 (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 133 of 2016).
2. The 10th day of March 2016 is appointed as the day on which the following provisions of the International Protection Act 2015 (No. 66 of 2015) come into operation:
(a) section 78;
(b) section 80;
(c) section 81.
E4
Power pursuant to section exercised (11.01.2016) by International Protection Act 2015 (Commencement) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 26 of 2016).
2. The 11th day of January 2016 is appointed as the day on which the following provisions of the International Protection Act 2015 (No. 66 of 2015) come into operation.
(a) section 1;
(b) section 2, insofar as it relates to the repeal referred to in paragraph (c);
(c) section 6(1), insofar as it relates to the repeal of section 7A of the Refugee Act 1996 (No. 17 of 1996).
Section 2
Interpretation
2. (1) In this Act—
“Act of 1996” means the Refugee Act 1996;
“Act of 1999” means the Immigration Act 1999;
“Act of 2004” means the Immigration Act 2004;
“applicant” means a person who—
(a) has made an application for international protection in accordance with section 15, or on whose behalf such an application has been made or is deemed to have been made, and
(b) has not ceased, under subsection (2), to be an applicant;
“biometric information” means information relating to the distinctive physical characteristics of a person including—
(a) measurements or other assessments of those characteristics,
(b) information about those characteristics held in an automated form,
but does not include references to the DNA profile of a person, and references to the provision by a person of biometric information means its provision in a way that enables the identity of the person to be investigated or ascertained;
“chairperson” means the chairperson of the Tribunal;
“chief international protection officer” means the person appointed under section 75 to be the chief international protection officer;
“country of origin” means the country or countries of nationality or, for stateless persons, of former habitual residence;
“civil partner” means a civil partner within the meaning of section 3 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010;
“deportation order” shall be construed in accordance with section 51;
“deputy chairperson” means a deputy chairperson of the Tribunal;
“DNA profile” has the meaning it has in section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014;
“document” includes—
(a) any written matter,
(b) any photograph,
(c) any currency notes or counterfeit currency notes,
(d) any information in non-legible form that is capable of being converted into legible form,
(e) any audio or video recording, and
(f) a travel document or an identity document;
“Dublin Regulation” means Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 20134
“Dublin System Regulations” means any statutory instrument made by a Minister of the Government for the purpose of giving effect to the Dublin Regulation;
“establishment day” shall be construed in accordance with section 61(2);
“European Asylum Support Office” means the European Asylum Support Office established by Regulation (EU) No. 439/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 20105;
“Geneva Convention” means the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28 July 1951 (the text of which, in the English language, is, for convenience of reference, set out in Schedule 1) and includes the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees done at New York on 31 January 1967 (the text of which, in the English language, is, for convenience of reference, set out in Schedule 2);
“High Commissioner” means the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;
“identity document” includes a passport, visa, transit visa, national identity card, entry permit, residence permit, driving licence, employment permit, birth certificate, marriage certificate or any other document establishing or contributing to establishing a person’s nationality or identity issued or purporting to be issued by or on behalf of a local or the national authority of a state, including the State, or by an organ or agency of the United Nations;
“immigration officer” has the meaning it has in section 3 of the Act of 2004;
“information” includes—
(a) information in the form of a document (or any other thing) or in any other form, and
(b) personal information, including biometric information;
“international protection” means status in the State either—
(a) as a refugee, on the basis of a refugee declaration, or
(b) as a person eligible for subsidiary protection, on the basis of a subsidiary protection declaration;
“international protection officer” means a person who is authorised under section 74 to perform the functions conferred on an international protection officer by or under this Act;
“legal assistance” means legal aid or legal advice, within the meaning of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995;
“legal representative” means a practising solicitor or a practising barrister;
“Minister” means the Minister for Justice and Equality;
“persecution” shall be construed in accordance with section 7;
“person eligible for subsidiary protection” means a person—
(a) who is not a national of a Member State of the European Union,
(b) who does not qualify as a refugee,
(c) in respect of whom substantial grounds have been shown for believing that he or she, if returned to his or her country of origin, would face a real risk of suffering serious harm and who is unable or, owing to such risk, unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country, and
(d) who is not excluded under section 12 from being eligible for subsidiary protection;
“personal interview” means an interview held under section 35(1);
“preliminary interview” means an interview held under section 13(1);
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister;
“protection” (except where the context otherwise requires) means protection against persecution or serious harm and shall be construed in accordance with section 31;
“qualified person” means a person who is either—
(a) a refugee and in relation to whom a refugee declaration is in force, or
(b) a person eligible for subsidiary protection and in relation to whom a subsidiary protection declaration is in force;
“refugee” means a person, other than a person to whom section 10 applies, who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group, is outside his or her country of nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country, or a stateless person, who, being outside of the country of former habitual residence for the same reasons as mentioned above, is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to return to it;
“refugee declaration” means a statement, made in writing by the Minister, declaring that the person to whom it relates is a refugee;
“registered medical practitioner” means a person who is a registered medical practitioner within the meaning of section 2 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007;
“Registrar” means the Registrar of the Tribunal appointed under section 66;
“Regulations of 2006” means the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 518 of 2006);
“Regulations of 2013” means the European Union (Subsidiary Protection) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 426 of 2013);
F1[“return order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 51A;]
“safe country of origin” means a country that has been designated under section 72 as a safe country of origin;
F1[“safe third country” means a country that has been designated under section 72A as a safe third country;]
“serious harm” means—
(a) death penalty or execution,
(b) torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of a person in his or her country of origin, or
(c) serious and individual threat to a civilian’s life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in a situation of international or internal armed conflict;
“serious non-political crime” includes particularly cruel actions, even if committed with an allegedly political objective;
“statute” means—
(a) an Act of the Oireachtas, or
(b) a statute that was in force in Saorstát Éireann immediately before the date of the coming into operation of the Constitution and that continues to be of full force and effect by virtue of Article 50 of the Constitution;
“statutory instrument” means an order, regulation, rule, scheme or bye-law made in exercise of a power conferred by statute;
“social welfare benefits” includes any payment or services provided under the Social Welfare Acts or the Health Acts 1947 to 2015 ;
“subsidiary protection declaration” means a statement, made in writing by the Minister, declaring that the person to whom it relates is a person eligible for subsidiary protection;
“Tribunal” means the International Protection Appeals Tribunal established by section 61.
(2) A person shall cease to be an applicant on the date on which—
(a) subject to subsection (3), the Minister refuses—
(i) under subsection (2) or (3) of section 47 to give the person a refugee declaration, or
(ii) under section 47(5) both to give a refugee declaration and to give a subsidiary protection declaration to the person,
(b) subject to subsection (3), he or she is first given, under section 54(1), a permission to reside in the State, or
(c) he or she is transferred from the State in accordance with the Dublin Regulation.
(3) Where—
(a) a recommendation referred to in section 39(3)(b) is made in respect of an applicant, and
(b) the applicant appeals under section 41(1)(a) against the recommendation,
notwithstanding the giving, under section 47(4)(a), of a subsidiary protection declaration to the applicant on the basis of the recommendation, he or she shall, for the purposes of this Act, remain an applicant until, following the decision of the Tribunal in relation to the appeal, the Minister, under section 47, gives or, as the case may be, refuses to give him or her a refugee declaration.
Annotations
Amendments:
F1
Inserted (31.12.2020 at 11.00 p.m.) by Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 (23/2020), s. 117, S.I. No. 693 of 2020, subject to transitional provision in s. 116.
4 O.J. No. L180, 29.06.2013, p.31 or any Regulation amending or replacing that Regulation;
5 O.J. No. L132, 29.05.2010, p.11
Section 3
Regulations
3. (1) The Minister may by regulations provide for any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.
(2) Different regulations may be made under this section in respect of different classes of matter the subject of the prescribing concerned.
(3) Without prejudice to any provision of this Act, regulations under this section may contain such incidental, supplementary, consequential and transitional provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the regulations.
(4) Every regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as practicable after it is made and, if a resolution annulling such regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House sits after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.
Annotations
Editorial Notes:
E5
Power pursuant to section exercised (8.11.2022) by International Protection Act 2015 (Procedures and Periods for Appeals) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 542 of 2022), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E6
Power pursuant to section exercised (1.01.2021) by International Protection Act 2015 (Section 51B) (Places of Detention) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 727 of 2020), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E7
Power pursuant to section exercised (1.01.2021) by International Protection Act 2015 (Return Order) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 726 of 2020), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E8
Power pursuant to section exercised (29.03.2017) by International Protection Act 2015 (Procedures and Periods for Appeals) Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 116 of 2017).
E9
Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2016) by International Protection Act 2015 (Deportation) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 668 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E10
Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2016) by International Protection Act 2015 (Travel Document) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 667 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E11
Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2016) by International Protection Act 2015 (Places of Detention) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 666 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E12
Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2016) by International Protection Act (Voluntary Return) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 665 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E13
Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2016) by International Protection Act (Permission to Remain) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 664 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E14
Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2016) by International Protection Act 2015 (Temporary Residence Certificate) (Prescribed Information) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 662 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E15
Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2016) by International Protection Act 2015 (Application for International Protection Form) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 660 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
Section 4
Expenses
4. The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
PART 4
Assessment of Applications for International Protection
Section 27
Duty of applicant to cooperate
27. (1) It shall be the duty of an applicant—
(a) to submit as soon as reasonably practicable all the information needed to substantiate his or her application,
(b) to co-operate in the examination of his or her application and in the determination of his or her appeal in relation to that application, if any, and
(c) to comply with all of the other obligations under Parts 3 to 6 of an applicant in relation to his or her application.
(2) The information referred to in subsection (1) consists of statements by the applicant, and all documentation at his or her disposal, regarding the elements, referred to in section 28(3), of his or her application.
Section 28
Assessment of facts and circumstances
28. (1) An international protection officer shall, in co-operation with the applicant, assess the relevant elements of the application.
(2) The Tribunal shall, for the purposes of an appeal under section 41 in co-operation with the applicant, assess the relevant elements of the application.
(3) The elements referred to in subsections (1) and (2) consist of the applicant’s statements and all the documents submitted by him or her regarding his or her—
(a) age,
(b) background, including that of relevant relatives,
(c) identity,
(d) nationality or nationalities,
(e) country or countries, and place or places, of previous residence,
(f) previous asylum applications, whether made in the State or outside it,
(g) travel routes,
(h) identity and travel documents, and
(i) reasons for applying for international protection.
(4) The assessment, by the international protection officer of an application, and by the Tribunal of an appeal under section 41, shall be carried out on an individual basis and shall include taking into account the following:
(a) all relevant facts as they relate to the country of origin at the time of taking a decision on the application, including laws and regulations of the country of origin and the manner in which they are applied;
(b) the relevant statements and documentation presented by the applicant including information on whether the applicant has been or may be subject to persecution or serious harm;
(c) the individual position and personal circumstances of the applicant, including factors such as background, gender and age, so as to assess whether, on the basis of the applicant’s personal circumstances, the acts to which the applicant has been or could be exposed would amount to persecution or serious harm;
(d) whether the applicant’s activities since leaving the country of origin were engaged in for the sole or main purpose of creating the necessary conditions for applying for international protection, so as to assess whether those activities will expose the applicant to persecution or serious harm if returned to that country;
(e) whether the applicant could reasonably be expected to avail himself or herself of the protection of another country where he or she could assert citizenship;
(f) the general credibility of the applicant.
(5) (a) In the assessment of an application, an international protection officer shall, in the case of an applicant who was a child at the time of a relevant occurrence or at any time during which a relevant circumstance existed, take account of the applicant’s age at that time and the level of understanding that could reasonably be expected of a child of that age.
(b) In the conduct of an appeal under section 41, the Tribunal shall, in the case of an applicant who was a child at the time of a relevant occurrence or at any time during which a relevant circumstance existed, take account of the applicant’s age at that time and the level of understanding that could reasonably be expected of a child of that age.
(c) In this subsection—
“relevant circumstance” means, in relation to an application, a circumstance that falls to be considered in the assessment of the application;
“relevant occurrence” means, in relation to an application, an occurrence that falls to be considered in the assessment of the application.
(6) The fact that an applicant has already been subject to persecution or serious harm, or to direct threats of such persecution or such serious harm, is a serious indication of the applicant’s well-founded fear of persecution or real risk of suffering serious harm, unless there are good reasons to consider that such persecution or serious harm will not be repeated.
(7) Where aspects of the applicant’s statements are not supported by documentary or other evidence, those aspects shall not need confirmation where the international protection officer or, as the case may be, the Tribunal, is satisfied that—
(a) the applicant has made a genuine effort to substantiate his or her application,
(b) all relevant elements at the applicant’s disposal have been submitted and a satisfactory explanation regarding any lack of other relevant elements has been given,
(c) the applicant’s statements are found to be coherent and plausible and do not run counter to available specific and general information relevant to the applicant’s case,
(d) the applicant has applied for international protection at the earliest possible time, unless the applicant can demonstrate good reason for not having done so, and
(e) the general credibility of the applicant has been established.
Section 29
International protection needs arising sur place
29. (1) For the purposes of this Act, a well-founded fear of being persecuted or a real risk of suffering serious harm may be based on events which have taken place since the applicant left his or her country of origin.
(2) A well-founded fear of being persecuted or a real risk of suffering serious harm may be based on activities which have been engaged in by the applicant since he or she left his or her country of origin, in particular where it is established that the activities relied upon constitute the expression and continuation of convictions or orientations held in the country of origin.
(3) Without prejudice to the Geneva Convention, an applicant who is the subject of an application made with the consent of the Minister given under section 22 shall not normally be—
(a) the subject of a recommendation by the international protection officer under section 39 that he or she is a person in respect of whom a refugee declaration should be given, or
(b) the subject of a decision by the Tribunal under section 46 to recommend that he or she is a person in respect of whom a refugee declaration should be given,
if the risk of persecution is based on circumstances which the applicant has created by his or her own decision since leaving his or her country of origin.
Section 30
Actors of persecution or serious harm
30. For the purposes of this Act, actors of persecution or serious harm include—
(a) a state,
(b) parties or organisations controlling a state or a substantial part of the territory of a state, and
(c) non-state actors, if it can be demonstrated that the actors referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b), including international organisations, are unable or unwilling to provide protection against persecution or serious harm.
Section 31
Actors of protection
31. (1) For the purposes of this Act, protection against persecution or serious harm can only be provided by—
(a) a state, or
(b) parties or organisations, including international organisations, controlling a state or a substantial part of the territory of a state,
provided that they are willing and able to offer protection in accordance with subsection (2).
(2) Protection against persecution or serious harm—
(a) must be effective and of a non-temporary nature, and
(b) shall be regarded as being generally provided where—
(i) the actors referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) take reasonable steps to prevent the persecution or suffering of serious harm, and
(ii) the applicant has access to such protection.
(3) When assessing whether an international organisation controls a state or a substantial part of its territory and provides protection as described in subsection (2), the Minister, the international protection officer or, as the case may be, the Tribunal, shall take into account any guidance which may be provided in relevant European Union acts.
(4) The steps referred to in subsection (2)(b)(i) shall include the operating of an effective legal system for the detection, prosecution and punishment of acts constituting persecution or serious harm.
Section 32
Internal protection
32. (1) An international protection officer may recommend or, as the case may be, the Tribunal may decide, that an applicant is not in need of international protection if in a part of the country of origin the applicant—
(a) has—
(i) no well-founded fear of being persecuted or is not at real risk of suffering serious harm, or
(ii) access to protection against persecution or serious harm,
and
(b) can safely and legally travel to and gain admittance to that part of the country and can reasonably be expected to settle there.
(2) An international protection officer or, as the case may be, the Tribunal, in examining whether an applicant has a well-founded fear of being persecuted or is at real risk of suffering serious harm, or has access to protection against persecution or serious harm in a part of the country of origin in accordance with subsection (1), shall have regard to the general circumstances prevailing in that part of the country and to the personal circumstances of the applicant in accordance with section 28.
(3) An international protection officer or, as the case may be, the Tribunal, in complying with this section, shall ensure that precise and up-to-date information is obtained from relevant sources, such as the High Commissioner and the European Asylum Support Office.
Section 33
Applicant from safe country of origin
33. A country that has been designated under section 72 as a safe country of origin shall, for the purposes of the assessment of an application for international protection, be considered to be a safe country of origin in relation to a particular applicant only where—
(a) the country is the country of origin of the applicant, and
(b) the applicant has not submitted any serious grounds for considering the country not to be a safe country of origin in his or her particular circumstances and in terms of his or her eligibility for international protection.
Section 72
Designation of safe countries of origin
72. (1) The Minister may by order designate a country as a safe country of origin.
(2) The Minister may make an order under subsection (1) only if he or she is satisfied that, on the basis of the legal situation, the application of the law within a democratic system and the general political circumstances, it can be shown that there is generally and consistently no persecution, no torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and no threat by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.
(3) In making the assessment referred to in subsection (2), the Minister shall take account of, among other things, the extent to which protection is provided against persecution or mistreatment by—
(a) the relevant laws and regulations of the country and the manner in which they are applied,
(b) observance of the rights and freedoms laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Convention against Torture, in particular the rights from which derogation cannot be made under Article 15(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights,
(c) respect for the non-refoulement principle in accordance with the Geneva Convention, and
(d) provision for a system of effective remedies against violations of those rights and freedoms.
(4) The Minister shall base his or her assessment referred to in subsection (2) on a range of sources of information, including in particular information from—
(a) other Member States,
(b) the European Asylum Support Office,
(c) the High Commissioner,
(d) the Council of Europe, and
(e) such other international organisations as the Minister considers appropriate.
(5) The Minister shall, in accordanc e with subsections (2) to (4) and on a regular basis, review the situation in a country designated under subsection (1).
(6) The Minister shall notify the European Commission of the making, amendment or revocation of an order under subsection (1).
(7) In this section—
“Convention against Torture” means the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment adopted by Resolution 39/46 of the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1984;
“country” means a country other than an EU Member State;
“European Convention on Human Rights” means the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms done at Rome on the 4th day of November, 1950;
“International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” means the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted by Resolution 2200A (XXI) of the General Assembly of the United Nations on 16 December 1966.
Annotations
Editorial Notes:
E33
Power pursuant to subs. (1) exercised (31.01.2024) by International Protection Act 2015 (Safe Countries of Origin) (Amendment) Order 2024 (S.I. No. 32 of 2024), in effect as per art. 1(2).
E34
Power pursuant to subs. (1) exercised (16.04.2018) by International Protection Act 2015 (Safe Countries of Origin) Order 2018 (S.I. No. 121 of 2018), in effect as per art. 1(2).
Section 72A
F21[
Designation of safe third countries
72A. (1) The Minister may by order designate a country as a safe third country.
(2) The Minister may make an order under subsection (1) only if he or she is satisfied that a person seeking to be recognised in the country concerned as a refugee will be treated in accordance with the following principles in that country—
(a) life and liberty are not threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion,
(b) the principle of non-refoulement in accordance with the Geneva Convention is respected,
(c) the prohibition of removal, in violation of the right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as required by international law, is respected, and
(d) the possibility exists to request refugee status and, if found to be a refugee, to receive protection in accordance with the Geneva Convention.
(3) The Minister shall base his or her assessment referred to in subsection (2) on a range of sources of information, including in particular information from—
(a) other Member States of the European Union,
(b) the European Asylum Support Office,
(c) the High Commissioner,
(d) the Council of Europe, and
(e) such other international organisations as the Minister considers appropriate.
(4) The Minister shall, in accordance with subsections (2) and (3) and on a regular basis, review the situation in a country designated under subsection (1).
(5) The Minister shall notify the European Commission of the making, amendment or revocation of an order under subsection (1).
(6) In this section—
“country” means a country other than an EU Member State;
“refugee status” means the recognition by the country concerned of a third country national or stateless person as a refugee.]
Annotations
Amendments:
F21
Inserted (31.12.2020 at 11.00 p.m.) by Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 (23/2020), s. 122, S.I. No. 693 of 2020, subject to transitional provision in s. 116.
Editorial Notes:
E35
Power pursuant to subs. (1) exercised (31.12.2020 at 11.00 p.m.) by International Protection Act 2015 (Safe Third Country) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 725 of 2020), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E36
The section heading is taken from the amending section in the absence of one included in the amendment.