Refusing the appellant’s appeal in the First-tier Tribunal, the judge considered himself bound by the findings of the Upper Tribunal in the Country Guidance case of SSH and HR (illegal exit: failed asylum seeker) Iran CG [2016] UKUT 00308 (IAC).
In an error of law hearing in the Upper Tribunal, Rudolph persuaded Upper Tribunal Judge Storey that SSH and HR is not authoritative country guidance on persecution risks flowing from Kurdish ethnicity.
The rehearing of the appeal, being case-managed as suitable for country guidance, is currently listed to take place in the Upper Tribunal starting on 20 February 2018, when Rudolph will be led by Sonali Naik of Garden Court Chambers. Sonali and Rudolph are instructed by Barnes Harrild & Dyer Solicitors.