JC (Double Jeopardy: Art 10 CL) China v. Secretary of State for the Home Department

The appellant (JC) was a Chinese national who came the UK as an asylum seeker. While in the UK he joined a human trafficking gang, and was convicted under s.1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977 for conspiracy to kinap, conspiracy to falsely imprison, and conspiracy to extort. Following this, the appellant was sentenced to 14 years in prison, of which he served 7 owing to his good behaviour.

Upon release, the appellant continued his application for asylum in the UK, which was dismissed at first instance. Upon appeal the appellant argued that, owing to a letter sent by the Secretary for State which stated that there was a risk of re-prosecution upon the appellant's return to China, the AIT had incorrectly applied WC and SC, two earlier cases which stated that there was no such risk. The appeal court agreed, returning it again to the AIT (the case in question).

The AIT found upon appeal that WC and SC were in fact incorrectly applied, and considered expert evidence which highlighted that double jeopardy - although rare - was not unheard of in cases where Chinese nationals were convicted abroad. However, the appellant was held to in fact not be at material risk of double jeopardy upon return to China.

The appellant's application for asylum was therefore dismissed a second time.