The IARMJ is mourning about the sudden decease of its member Mathieu Herondart on 6 August 2025, at the age of 51. Mathieu was of course the President of the French Cour Nationale d'Asile (CNDA), a well respected member of the IARMJ, and a beloved friend for many of us. 
Apart from his challenging duties as CNDA President, he had recently taken up the task of organising the next IARMJ Europe Chapter Conference in Paris.
The office of President Macron made a tribute to Mathieu on the Elysée website.
We will miss Mathieu dearly and remember him as a well respected colleague and cordial friend.  Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.

“An Iranian national applied for asylum in Norway in 2011. The original asylum application was based on his fear of being persecuted by Iranian authorities after participating in a demonstration in Tehran. The application was rejected. Shortly after, he converted to Christianity. In the following years, he repeatedly requested the reversal of the rejection because he feared persecution in Iran due to his faith. The requests for reversal were not granted, and the case was brought to court.
The majority of the Court of Appeal assumed that the asylum seeker would practice his Christian faith discreetly upon a potential return to Iran, and therefore, he did not risk persecution. The question in the Supreme Court was whether, in cases where it is assumed that a convert will practice his religion discreetly upon return to his home country, the reason for this discretion matters. The asylum seeker argued that if the reason was fear of persecution, he had the right to asylum, but accepted that there was no right to asylum if the reason was social pressure. Such an approach, referred to as the "causal method", was adopted by the Supreme Court in a 2012 ruling concerning protection due to sexual orientation. The method has not been used for other grounds for asylum.
The Supreme Court found, as a starting point, that the same method could be used for all protection grounds, but that neither the Immigration Act nor the Refugee Convention suggests an extended use of the method.
The 2012 ruling was based on different premises than those present today, both in terms of administrative practice in Norway and developments in practice in other countries.
The Supreme Court noted that applying the causal method to additional protection grounds would effectively broaden the right to asylum under Norwegian law. Whether such an expansion should occur is a decision for the legislature to make. The case provides guidance on the interpretation of section 28 of the Immigration Act and Article 1 A of the Refugee Convention.”

UNHCR Updates of the most relevant judicial rulings issued by European courts and tribunals on asylum and migration.
Accessible for IARMJ members with login.

Message from UNSW, Sydney, Australia;

We are delighted to share with you the release of International Protection for People Displaced Across Borders in the Context of Climate Change and Disasters: A Practical Toolkit.

Please accept our sincere thanks for your participation in the consultation process that was undertaken as part of the development of this resource. We are immensely grateful for your insights and expertise, which helped to shape the Practical Toolkit and ensure that it is responsive to the needs of decision-makers and practitioners in diverse contexts, while highlighting key considerations for all climate-related international protection claims.

The Practical Toolkit provides clear and practical legal guidance on international protection claims involving climate change or disasters, based on existing refugee and human rights law and drawing on positive legal precedent in several jurisdictions.

Access the Practical Toolkit here or read the Overview here 

SPEED BRIEFINGS

The authors will be hosting online speed briefings in different time zones to introduce the Practical Toolkit (15 minutes) and take questions (15 minutes): 

Asia/Pacific/Oceania
Register here

When: Friday 14 February 12.30-1pm AEDT / 11.30am-12pm FJT / 13 February 5:30-6pm Pacific Time

Briefers: Professor Jane McAdam AO and Dr Tamara Wood, UNSW Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law (authors) and Dr Madeline Garlick, Chief of Section, Protection Policy and Legal Advice at UNHCR.

Americas

Register here

When: Wednesday 19 February, 11am-11:30am Pacific Time / 7pm-7:30pm GMT / 20 February 6:00-6:30am AEDT

Briefers: Professor Kate Jastram and Felipe Navarro, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS), University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco (authors) and Dr Kees Wouters, Senior Refugee Law Advisor at UNHCR

Europe/Africa
Register here

When: Tuesday 25 February, 10am-10:30am UK / 11am-11.30am GVA

Briefers: Professor Geoff Gilbert, University of Essex (author) and Isabelle Michal, Protection Officer – Climate Change and Disaster Displacement at UNHCR 

Thank you again for your collaboration in the development of the Practical Toolkit. We hope you find it a useful resource, and look forward to engaging with you at the briefings!

Warm regards,
Tamara Wood 

on behalf of the Practical Toolkit co-authors:
Professor Kate Jastram & Felipe Navarro (Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, UC Law SF)
Professor Jane McAdam AO & Dr Tamara Wood (Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Sydney)
Professor Geoff Gilbert (School of Law and Human Rights Centre, University of Essex)

Dr Tamara Wood 

Senior Research Fellow, Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW

Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University of Tasmania

Member, Case Law Editorial Team, International Journal of Refugee Law

UNSW Law 

UNSW Sydney NSW 2052 AUSTRALIA 

T: +61 (2) 9385 2210 

F: +61 (2) 9385 1175
E: ,    

Tw: @tamarajanewood 

EFTA Court judgment with possible relevance for other EU+ countries.

REQUEST to the Court under Article 34 of the Agreement between the EFTA States on the Establishment of a Surveillance Authority and a Court of Justice by the Immigration Appeals Board (Utlendingsnemnda), Norway.