Court cancels decision not to review a refugee status application

Who this helps

This may help people whose refugee application was not sent to a full review. It concerns a case where that refusal was challenged in court.

Case overview

Case number

2015구합1704

Court

Incheon District Court

Date of judgment

Apr 7, 2016 (Thu)

Topic

Refugees

Original title (Korean)

난민인정심사불회부결정을 취소한 사례

A decision was made not to review a refugee status application. A lawsuit was then filed seeking to cancel that decision.

Is it unlawful to skip the review of a refugee application that is not clearly baseless?

A decision was made not to conduct a refugee status review for an application. A lawsuit was filed asking the court to cancel that decision. The court found the application was not clearly without merit. It held that deciding not to review it was wrong and canceled the decision.

How the court ruled

The court found that the refugee application was not a case that was clearly without grounds. It held that the decision not to review it was wrong and cancelled that decision.

What to check in a similar situation

Information about how refugee applications are screened and how a decision not to review can be challenged is available from immigration and foreigner offices and from the courts.

• Find your immigration office
• Find support centers
• Contacts: Immigration Contact Center 1345

Terms explained

Decision not to review

An official decision that a refugee application will not go through the refugee status review. The application is set aside before its substance is examined.

Clearly without merit

A claim that is plainly baseless on its face. In this case, the court found the application did not fall into this category.

Cancellation of a disposition

A court ruling that removes the legal effect of an administrative decision. Here, it applied to the decision not to review.

More rulings on this topic

• Court upholds refusal of refugee status, finding a family property dispute is not a ground for recognition · Jeju District Court
• Ruling that upheld the cancellation of refugee status granted on the basis of false statements · Seoul Administrative Court
• Ruling Cancelling Decision Not to Refer Guinean National's Refugee Application for Examination · Busan District Court

See all 29 rulings on Refugees →

Frequently asked questions

Who brought the lawsuit and what did they ask for?

A person whose refugee application was not sent to review brought the suit. They asked the court to cancel the decision not to review it.

How did the court rule?

The court found the application was not clearly without merit. It held that the decision not to review was wrong and canceled it.

Does this result apply to every similar case?

No. It is the court's judgment in this one case and does not automatically apply to other cases.