N v United Kingdom (European Court of Human Rights 2008)
2nd January 2008, 12:00 pm
N, a Ugandan national, sought asylum in the United Kingdom. She was diagnosed as HIV positive and suffered from AIDS. Her CD4 cell count had been at a low of 10. As a result of anti-retroviral treatment her CD4 count rose to 414. Doctors indicated that regular access to anti-retrovirals would significantly prolong her life expectancy. N’s application for asylum was denied. The House of Lords upheld the denial of asylum. N appealed to the European Court of Human Rights arguing that her rights to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and to respect for private and family life were violated by the denial.

The Court upheld the denial of asylum, finding that N’s situation did not rise to the level of violating the right to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The Court noted that only in exceptional cases where the humanitarian grounds against the deportation are compelling will the right to be free from mistreatment be violated. In reaching its decision that N’s circumstances were not compelling or exception, the Court took into account the fact that antiretroviral treatment was available in Uganda and that at the time of the application she was not critically ill.

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