What do international and EU law require from the national asylum judge with regard to the intensity of judicial scrutiny to be applied and evidentiary issues? To answer that question, an analysis is made of the provisions on national judicial proceedings contained in the Refugee Convention (RC), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the UN Convention against Torture (CAT), the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. In addition, the assessment as performed by the UN Human Rights Committee, the UN Committee against Torture and the European Court of Human Rights in cases concerning the expulsion of asylum seekers is analysed.

Table of Contents:
Excerpt of table of contents: Acknowledgments; List of abbreviations and acronyms; Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Research context and reasons 1.2 Research questions 1.3 Sources and methodology 1.4 Methods and rules of interpretation 1.5 Structure of the book 1.6 Limitations of the research 1.7 State of the Art Chapter 2: The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (RC) and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Article 16: access to courts 2.3 Procedural rights in expulsion cases: Article 32 2.4 Articles 16 and 32: the UNHCR’s position on evidence and judicial scrutiny quality of evidence 2.5 The requirement of co-operation with the UNHCR 2.6 Concluding remarks Chapter 3: The 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 3.1 Introduction ICCPR, Part 1: Provisions on national proceedings; issues of intensity of judicial scrutiny and evidentiary issues in national judicial proceedings 3.2 Basics: introduction to the provisions on national proceedings 3.3 The provisions on national proceedings in the context of national asylum court proceedings 3.4 Article 14: intensity of national judicial scrutiny and issues of evidence ICCPR, Part 2: The assessment performed by the HRC in cases on the expulsion of asylum seekers 3.5 The assessment performed by the HRC in cases on expulsion of asylum seekers 3.6 Concluding remarks Chapter 4: The 1984 Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) 4.1 Introduction CAT, Part 1: Provisions on national proceedings; issues of intensity of judicial scrutiny and evidentiary issues in national judicial proceedings 4.2 The CAT’s provisions on national proceedings: introduction and asylum context 4.3 Impartial investigation under Articles 12 and 13 CAT 4.4 Article 15: the prohibition on using evidence obtained under torture CAT, Part 2: The assessment performed by the Committee against Torture in cases on expulsion of asylum seekers 4.5 The assessment performed by the Committee against Torture 4.6 Concluding remarks Chapter 5: The 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) 5.1 Introduction ECHR, Part 1: Provisions on national proceedings; Issues of intensity of judicial scrutiny and evidentiary issues in national judicial proceedings 5.2 Basics: introduction to the provisions on national proceedings 5.3 The provisions on national proceedings in the asylum context 5.4 Issues of intensity of judicial scrutiny under Article 6, first paragraph 5.5 Article 6, first paragraph: evidentiary issues in national court proceedings ECHR, Part 2: The assessment performed by the ECtHR in cases on expulsion of asylum seekers 5.6 Rigorous scrutiny 5.7 Concluding remarks Chapter 6: European Union asylum law 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Issues of evidence and judicial scrutiny under Articles 18 and 19 of the Charter 6.3 Issues of evidence and judicial scrutiny under Article 47 of the Charter 6.4 Provisions on evidentiary issues in secondary EU asylum law 6.5 Concluding remarks Chapter 7: National courts and the independent and rigorous scrutiny 7.1 Towards a coherent set of standards for use by national courts 7.2 National courts are ‘double bound’ by treaty obligations 7.3 The ‘independent and rigorous national judicial scrutiny’: sources of interpretation 7.4 The independent and rigorous national judicial scrutiny defined 7.5 Concluding remarks Chapter 8: Repeat cases, Dublin cases, fast-track national proceedings 8.1 Repeat asylum cases 8.2 Dublin cases 8.3 Fast-track proceedings Final Conclusions; Bibliography; International case law; Index; Curriculum vitae.