ECtHR - Jabari v. Turkey, Application no. 40035/98, 11 July 2000

The Court reiterated the need for rigorous scrutiny to be given to any claim that deportation would expose a person to ill-treatment contrary to Article 3. It found that in this case the authorities had not conducted any meaningful assessment of the applicant’s claim including its arguability. It considered that the automatic and mechanical application of the five-day registration requirement was contrary to the protection of the fundamental value enshrined in Article 3 ECHR. The Ankara Administrative Court, hearing her judicial review challenge, only considered the formal legality of her deportation rather than the substance of her asylum claim  

It placed weight on the fact that UNHCR had considered the applicant to be a refugee after an interview and evaluation of the risk she faced. With regard to the international reports on the situation in Iran for women found guilty of adultery, it concluded that deporting her to Iran would give rise to a violation of Article 3 ECHR.

In relation to Article 13 ECHR the Court noted that her asylum claim had not been assessed by the domestic authorities due to non-respect of procedural requirements, in a non-appealable decision. Although she could lodge a judicial review application to challenge her deportation, this did not have suspensive effect or give her an opportunity to have the merits of her claim examined. The Court held that Article 13 required independent and rigorous scrutiny of a claim to be at risk of Article 3 ill-treatment, with suspensive effect for the measure challenged. It therefore found that Article 13 ECHR had been violated.