The Chairperson of the International Protection Appeals Tribunal has issued a new Guideline No. 2025/3 on Appeals from Child Applicants. The International Protection Act 2015, S.I. No. 116 of 2017 – International Protection Act 2015 (Procedures and Periods for Appeals) Regulations 2017 and S.I. No. 62 of 2018 European Union (Dublin System) Regulations 2018, all set out various matters relating to the consideration of appeals before the International Protection Appeals Tribunal. This Guideline is intended to supplement the Act and Regulations and not to supplant them. In case of conflict, the provisions of the Act or relevant Regulation shall take precedence over this Guideline. This Guideline replaces the Chairperson’s Guideline No: 2017/5 Appeals from Child Applicants dated 20 April 2017. This Guideline is issued pursuant to section 63(2) of the Act.
This Guideline applies to all Appeals involving a Child heard by the Tribunal, and to Children at all stages of their interaction with the Tribunal, from pre-hearing stage until a decision is made by a Member of the Tribunal.
This guideline is primarily informed by the UNHCR ‘Handbook and Guidelines on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status’ , ‘Guidelines on International Protection No. 8 Child Asylum Claims under Articles 1(A)2 and 1(F) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees’ issued 22 December 2009 as well as ‘UN Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comments No. 12 (2009) on the right of the child to be heard’ (which emphasises that all Children have the right to express their views freely and to have those views considered and given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity) and ‘General Comment No. 14 (2013) on the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration’ (which emphasises that when making decisions which affect a Child, their best interests must be considered). Consideration has also been given to the UNHCR ‘Operational Guidance on Child Protection Core Programme Actions’ (January 2024) , EASO ‘Practical guide on the best interest of the child in asylum procedures’ (2019) , and UNHCR ‘Best Interests Procedure Guidelines: Assessing and Determining the Best Interests of the Child’ (May 2021).