Abstract

This chapter examines the standard of review in asylum decision-making by states. It argues that the proper standard of review in decision-making on asylum is merits review and that this standard should be articulated as a legal requirement embedded within supranational norms governing asylum decision-making. The chapter first reviews international and certain regional legal norms and surveys the scholarship on the question (section 1). The focus then moves to an analysis and critique of the existing supranational standards (section 2). The central argument of this chapter is that with reference to the nature of the rights and interests at stake in asylum decision making, merits review should be recognized: (i) as the proper standard of review from administrative decisions on asylum; and (ii) as forming part of supranational legal standards for the review of primary administrative decisions on asylum.