AW (Kiribati) v Refugee and Protection Officer

The case addressed a Kiribati citizen's claim that deportation would expose him to persecution or cruel treatment due to the negative impacts of climate change on his safety and well-being (alongside other reasons). One issue was whether a yardstick of time is necessary to assess the real chance of harm for the purposes of the Refugee Convention, the Convention against Torture, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which could give rise to a seriously arguable question of law of general or public importance. The Court of Appeal accepted that this could, however, based on the Tribunal’s decision and its extensive analysis, they were not satisfied that adopting a specific timeframe or yardstick for assessing the real chance of persecution or an arbitrary deprivation of life as a result of climate change would have led to a different outcome. The Tribunal accepted that climate-change hazards could give rise to a Convention or ICCPR ground, but, on the evidence, this was not established.