S v Refugee Status Appeals Authority - [1998] 2 NZLR 291

Immigration — Status — Refugee status — Whether United Nations 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees did not apply to the appellant by reason of art 1F(b) — Whether aggravated robbery serious crime within the meaning of art 1F(b) — Whether art 1F(b) is clear and unambiguous — Whether the seriousness of a crime bears relationship to or is governed by matters extraneous to the offending — Whether there is anything in art 1F(b) to justify reading into its provisions restrictive or qualifying words such as those which would require balancing the seriousness of the crime against the gravity of the consequences of return — Whether it was part of the role of the Refugee Status Appeals Authority to weigh the gravity of the crimes against the gravity of the possible persecution in determining whether or not in the particular circumstances these were serious crimes for the purposes of art 1F(b) — Whether art 3.1 of the 1984 Convention Against Torture relevant — Whether the Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status can override the function of the Court in determining the words of the convention — Immigration Act 1987.