“67. I turn finally to the question of procedural rigour in public law litigation. In my view, it cannot be emphasised enough that public law litigation must be conducted with an appropriate degree of procedural rigour. I recognise that public law litigation cannot necessarily be regarded in the same way as ordinary civil litigation between private parties. This is because it is not only the private interests of the parties which are involved. There is clearly an important public interest which must not be overlooked or undermined. In particular procedure must not become the master of substance where, for example, an abuse of power needs to be corrected by the court. However, both fairness and the orderly management of litigation require that there must be an appropriate degree of formality and predictability in the conduct of public law litigation as in other forms of civil litigation. 68. In the context of an appeal such as this it is important that the grounds of appeal should be clearly and succinctly set out. It is also important that only those grounds of appeal for which permission has been granted by this Court are then pursued at an appeal. The Courts frequently observe, as did appear to happen in the present case, that grounds of challenge have a habit of “evolving” during the course of proceedings, for example when a final skeleton argument comes to be drafted. This will in practice be many months after the formal close of pleadings and after evidence has been filed. 69. These unfortunate trends must be resisted and should be discouraged by the courts, using whatever powers they have to impose procedural rigour in public law proceedings. Courts should be prepared to take robust decisions and not permit grounds to be advanced if they have not been properly pleaded or where permission has not been granted to raise them. Otherwise there is a risk that there will be unfairness, not only to the other party to the case, but potentially to the wider public interest, which is an important facet of public law litigation.”
“Relevant Law 41. The appellant claims that the respondent's decision is in breach of her international protection obligations under The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 (the Refugee Convention) and for Humanitarian Protection under EU Qualification Directive (2004/83/EC) under Articles 2, and 3 of the ECHR. 42. The appellant has the burden of proving that there is a 'real risk of persecution’ under the Refugee Convention to the lower standard proof, expressed as a 'reasonable degree of likelihood' (Sivakumaran[1988] AC 958 ) or there is a 'real risk of suffering serious harm' under 339C of the Immigration Rules to qualify for humanitarian protection. 43. In Tanveer Ahmed [20021 UKIAT 439 it was held that it is for the individual claimant to show that a document is reliable in the same way as any other evidence he puts forward and seeks to rely upon; that it is manifestly incorrect to say that if the respondent alleges that a document is a forgery but fails to establish it on the balance of probabilities or to the higher criminal standard, than the claimant has established that validity and truth of the documents; the only question is whether reliance can be properly placed on the document; the document should not be viewed in isolation but by taking all the evidence in the round. Findings and Reasons Asylum and Humanitarian Protection 44. It is for the appellant to demonstrate that she has a well-founded fear of persecution on return to Bangladesh, to the lower standard of proof. I have only arrived at my conclusions after considering all the evidence in the round and with anxious scrutiny.”
“56. To the lower standard of proof, I am satisfied that the appellant is an educated woman who was practising as a lawyer in Bangladesh. I also find it plausible, that as a result she had a good income and she may have been able to purchase property. 57. The appellant also claims that she would not have left her good profession but for the threat to her life. I accept that if she was able to secure visitor visas to the UK, she was able to satisfy the ECO of sound means in Bangladesh. The appellant continues to be in contact with her family who are managing her rental income and properties. She is also legally represented and a lawyer herself. She has not provided any supporting evidence as to her financial circumstances or the success of her legal practice when she left Bangladesh, or now. Therefore, I attach little weight to her claim that she would not have left Bangladesh unless there was a threat to her life. 58. The appellant claims that [Mr H] is a cadre for MP [Mr XY]. She claims that [Mr H] is involved in extortion and rigging the vote. She claims he is a 'ghost' individual, used by politicians for nefarious purposes, but is not formally part of the Awami League. Even if I were to accept that it would be difficult to prove his connections due to this, it is the appellant's case that [Mr H] was the appellant's client and friend since 2010. I find that as a practising lawyer, it undermines her credibility that she has not been able to demonstrate with supporting evidence that he even exists or has ever communicated with her. 59. I have noted that she has provided a signed statement dated7 August 2017 , addressed to the Officer in Charge, [YZ] Station to support that she reported the incident on6 August 2017 to the police. Although the letter is sealed by a Notary Public, there is no evidence that this was received by the Police station or formally filed and I attach no weight to this being evidence that the incident was actually reported. 60. I also find it inconsistent, that after she claims she first reported [Mr H] to the police, she did not get any reprisals from him. There was no suggestion that he was aware that she had made a report to the police, which undermines her claims that he has connections with the police which has prevented her reporting the February 2018 incident. 61. I find it inconsistent that [Mr H], whom she claims pursued her for marriage from 2014 to 2018, and subjected her to violent attacks in 2017 and 2018, did not pursue her at all in the five months before she left for the UK. Her evidence was that after the incident in February 2018, she continued to see him in passing after the incident where they would exchange 'hi/ hello's', because they lived in the same area. He did not threaten or pursue her and she was not aware that she was under his surveillance in this time. 62. I have considered Counsel's submission, [that] [Mr H] was using the video to intimidate her, this was enough to make her feel threatened. Putting this [sic] context, the appellant said she remained in Bangladesh after the first set of threats in 2017. She came to know [sic] that his connections to the police as well as politicians. She claims she was kidnapped and raped, being threatened with being killed and humiliated [sic] who felt that she and her son were in danger and her properties were at risk of being snatched following forced marriage. Despite all this, she continued to work and live in her local area until she left in 2018. I find this undermines her claim that she fears [Mr H]. 63. Moreover, the appellant specifically said in her oral evidence that she only came to the UK in July 2018 to attend her son's graduation. She said she did not intend to seek asylum. The appellant had previously acquired visas to come to the UK and did so again shortly to attend her son's graduation, so this was clearly an option to explore if she needed to leave the country for her safety. Yet she made no attempt to leave Bangladesh until July 2018. I find that this undermines her claims that she was threatened or harmed by [Mr H] as claimed. 64. In addition to this, the appellant has not had any direct contact with [Mr H] since she left Bangladesh. She has not provided any supporting evidence or details of him stopping construction on her land or stealing items from her home. I find that even if this happened just days before the hearing, there is no credible reason why she could not have provided photos or police reports from her family overseeing her property in Bangladesh. I also note, that despite his threats to do so, there is no evidence that he has released the video footage even though she has been away from Bangladesh for over a year. 65. The appellant claims that [Mr H] has been threatening her through contact with her family members. I find the evidence that she and her family members have provided on this is brief and vague. Contrary to the appellant's evidence that she did not instruct them what to write, it appears that all the statements are almost identical as to the incident on6 August 2017 and21 February 2018 , amended only to refer to 'daughter/ sister/ friend' as applicable. None refers to their own personal knowledge about when she told them about these horrific incidents. I attach little weight to the witness statements provided by her family members and friends in Bangladesh in support of her claim. 66. I remind myself that the standard of proof to succeed in an asylum claim is a low one. I have considered the appellant's claims with the evidence in the round. Overall, I am not satisfied that the appellant's claim is credible. I am not satisfied that even if [Mr H] exists, that he has any political connections, that he has been violent to the appellant or harmed her in any way. I am not satisfied that he has any interest in harming her or appropriating her property through forced marriage. 67. It follows that I am not satisfied that the appellant has a well-founded fear of persecution in Bangladesh or that she at risk of serious harm on her return. Consequently, I have not considered internal relocation, as I do not find there is any risk to her returning to Dhaka.”
“… Contrary to the appellant's evidence that she did not instruct them what to write, it appears that all the statements are almost identical as to the incident on6 August 2017 and21 February 2018 , amended only to refer to 'daughter/ sister/ friend' as applicable. None refers to their own personal knowledge about when she told them about these horrific incidents. I attach little weight to the witness statements provided by her family members and friends in Bangladesh in support of her claim.”