Legal service welcomes asylum court rulings on deportations of Syrians

A series of judgments by the international protection administrative court which cleared the way for the expedited the return of Syrian nationals whose appeals had been rejected have been welcomed by the legal service.

The court dismissed multiple appeals by Syrian applicants and upheld the rejection decisions of the asylum service, as well as the accompanying return orders.

The rulings mean that the migration deputy ministry may now proceed directly with deportations of Syrians staying in the country without residence documents following the final rejection of their claims.

The court held that the applicants no longer fulfil the requirements of the refugee law or the Geneva convention on the status of refugees, particularly in light of developments in Syria.

It ruled that the appeals failed to demonstrate persecution based on race, religion, nationality, or political opinion.

The legal service agreed with the asylum service’s assessment that the applicants would not face, “by virtue of their presence alone”, a serious and personal threat to their life or physical integrity due to indiscriminate violence in their place of origin.

The court characterised the cases as involving economic migrants or applicants whose claims of persecution lacked credibility.

Referring specifically to Idlib, it said the incidents cited could not be regarded as sufficiently intense or frequent to establish conditions of indiscriminate violence linked to internal or international armed conflict, describing them as “isolated incidents”.

In reviewing the evidence, the court found that the asylum service had relied on adequate sources concerning the security situation in Syria, humanitarian conditions and support mechanisms for returnees.

The rulings come as parliament has moved to shorten deadlines for asylum appeals, a change presented by the government as part of a broader effort to accelerate removals following rejected applications.