- Article 3 (ECHR Return)
- Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. Engaged in deportation and removal cases where return conditions reach the minimum level of severity.
- Article 15(c) (Subsidiary Protection)
- Provision of the Qualification Directive providing subsidiary protection where the appellant faces real risk of serious harm from indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.
- Assumed Facts
- Facts assumed for the purpose of expert analysis, as distinguished from matters requiring independent verification. Adam Pipe 2025 requires clear distinction between assumed facts and independent expert opinion.
- Country Condition Report
- Expert witness report providing independent analysis of conditions in the appellant's country of origin — security, governance, human rights, and profile-specific risk — with dated primary sources.
- Country Guidance (CG)
- Upper Tribunal country guidance decisions binding on First-tier Tribunals unless distinguished. Establish tribunal-wide precedent on country conditions for specific profiles or nationalities.
- CPIN (Country Policy Information Note)
- Home Office document providing generic country policy summaries based on country of origin information. Starting point for country evidence but not binding on tribunals and may be challenged by independent experts.
- Cross-Examination (Expert)
- Questioning of expert witnesses at tribunal hearings by parties and the tribunal. Tests independence, methodology, source selection, and consistency between written and oral testimony.
- EUAA Country Guidance
- Country guidance published by the European Union Agency for Asylum. Persuasive in UK proceedings; frequently cited for actors of protection methodology and country condition analysis.
- Expert Independence
- The defining quality of expert evidence under Ikarian Reefer. Experts owe a paramount duty to the tribunal to provide objective, evidence-based analysis regardless of who instructs or pays them.
- Expert Witness (Immigration Tribunal)
- A specialist instructed to provide independent expert evidence to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber. Country experts analyse conditions in the country of origin; other experts address persecution frameworks, human rights, or linguistic identity.
- First-tier Tribunal (FTT)
- The First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) is the primary forum for asylum appeals and immigration judicial review of Home Office decisions.
- Fresh Claim
- A claim or submission relying on new or previously unconsidered material that, when considered alongside previously considered material, creates a realistic prospect of success.
- Home Office Country Evidence
- Country of origin information and CPINs relied upon by the Home Office in asylum decision-making. May be challenged with independent expert evidence demonstrating methodology and dated primary sources.
- Internal Relocation
- Whether the appellant can safely and reasonably relocate to another part of their country of origin. Assessed using the reasonable in country and unduly harsh tests applied to profile-specific circumstances.
- Joint Expert Meeting
- Meeting between experts instructed by different parties before a tribunal hearing, required under Practice Direction 2024. Must be genuine — identifying agreement and disagreement without collusion.
- Legal Aid (Expert Witness)
- Legal Aid Agency funding for expert witness fees in legally aided immigration cases. Requires prior authority before instruction, with fees within published LAA rates unless exceptional funding is granted.
- Oral Evidence
- Expert testimony given at tribunal hearings. The expert confirms their written report, may provide supplementary evidence within their expertise, and faces cross-examination.
- Primary Sources (Country Expert)
- Original, dated source material cited in expert reports — ACLED data, UNHCR position papers, FCO travel advice, NGO field reports, academic research, and government documents.
- Profile-Specific Risk
- Risk assessment applied to the individual appellant's specific circumstances — ethnicity, clan, political associations, sexuality, gender, region — rather than generic country conditions.
- Return Risk Assessment
- Expert analysis of conditions the appellant would face on return to their country of origin, engaging Article 3 ECHR in deportation and removal cases.
- Single Joint Expert (SJE)
- One expert appointed jointly by both parties under tribunal directions. Owes the same paramount duty to the tribunal under Ikarian Reefer despite joint instruction.
- State Protection (Willing/Able)
- Whether the authorities in the country of origin are willing and able to provide effective protection from the feared harm. Assessed against the appellant's specific profile and actors of protection.
- Subsidiary Protection
- Protection under the Qualification Directive for those not qualifying as refugees but facing serious harm, including Article 15(c) indiscriminate violence in conflict situations.
- Tribunal Duty (Expert)
- The expert's overriding obligation under Ikarian Reefer and CPR Part 35 to assist the tribunal within their area of expertise, taking precedence over any duty to the instructing party.
- Upper Tribunal (UT)
- The Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) hears appeals from FTT decisions, country guidance applications, and judicial reviews of immigration decisions.
- Well-Founded Fear
- The standard for refugee status under Article 1A(2) of the Refugee Convention — a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.