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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions >> Chen, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department & Anor [2009] EWHC 116 (Admin) (08 January 2009) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2009/116.html Cite as: [2009] EWHC 116 (Admin) |
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QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
Strand London WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
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THE QUEEN ON THE APPLICATION OF QI CHEN | Claimant | |
v | ||
(1) THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT | ||
(2) KALYX | Defendants | |
and | ||
QI CHEN | Appellant | |
v | ||
THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT | Respondent |
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Mr A Payne (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor, London WC2B 4TS) appeared on behalf of the First Defendant/Respondent
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Crown Copyright ©
Introduction
Chronology
The medical evidence
"My overall assessment is that there is a reasonable likelihood that he has been tortured."
"It is hard to understand this comment. There is no objective method for measuring pain. ... I am not aware of any evidence that his pain has decreased since [I examined him]; it may have increased."
Dr Arnold also made certain comments about what the immigration judge had said about the claimant's medical condition, which are more relevant to JR1.
"No evidence of failing liver. HG serology awaited. ... Not unfit for detention."
"In the unlikely event that a sufferer takes a turn for the worse and has an episode or a flare-up of some kind, he or she would be immediately sent to the Hillingdon Hospital or the nearest available hospital for further medical care."
Again, these matters are perhaps more relevant to JR1.
"The constant pain makes it not only uncomfortable, but it also makes me feel extremely tired, causing me to have to rest and to lie down every few hours. The hearing on 29th October 2008 was delayed until after lunchtime. By the start of the hearing, I was feeling very unwell and very tired. If I had to put a measure on the amount of pain I was in, I [would] say that I was in a medium amount of pain throughout the course of the proceedings on that date."
The immigration judge's decision
"It appears also from those reports that the appellant failed to take the medication that was prescribed to him."
"27. I therefore found no reason to conclude that the appellant was not receiving adequate healthcare and treatment or that his medical condition was such that continued detention was inappropriate. With regard to the psychological assessment, again I considered that there had been ample time for such an assessment to have been made ... As to the allegation made by the appellant of torture, I considered that the evidence in that regard was wholly inconsistent, with the appellant stating himself at the Campsfield House induction interview that he had not been a victim of torture ...
28. In the circumstances, I considered there to be no exceptional circumstances justifying the transfer of the appellant's case out of the fast track system. I considered that his case was not a complex one and that it could be justly determined by myself accordingly. I found too that there was no reason to adjourn the proceedings further and I noted that the appellant had had an extra four weeks to prepare his appeal, given the previous two adjournments."
"... I find that the appellant's entire account of his experiences in China and his reasons for coming to the UK have been fabricated. I do not accept as genuine his account of his visit to the parents of a student in detention, his enlightening political discussions with his brother, his expression of anti-government views to his students, his subsequent arrest, detention and ill-treatment, his express resignation from the Communist Party and the subsequent police interest in him. I believe that the appellant has fabricated all of these events in order to prevent his removal to China. I find there to be no reason why he would be of any adverse interest to the Chinese authorities on return to China and why he would be at any risk on return."
"I found him to be a wholly unreliable witness and found his claim to be without any merit."
The law
"27. ... our decision concerns only cases, such as the two before us, in which the application for judicial review is coextensive with the available statutory review. Judicial review remains open in principle in cases of justiciable errors not susceptible of statutory review."
The claimant's submissions
Is the case one for judicial review?
Section 103A
Conclusion