N v Secretary of State for the Home Department (House of Lords 2005)
2nd January 2005, 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 and she eventually challenged her impending removal to Uganda, arguing that it would violate her rights under European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits torture and inhuman and degrading treatment.

The Court upheld the denial of asylum, holding that an asylum claim on medical grounds will only succeed if the applicant's medical condition is at such a critical level that removing her to a place which lacks the needed medical and social services would result in acute suffering. To hold otherwise, the Court maintained would be to open the floodgates to a myriad of claims placing an unreasonable burden on the state.

N appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.

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