Teitiota vs. Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment [2014] NZCA 173 (New Zealand)

The applicant, Mr. Teitiota and his wife were Kiribati citizens residing in New Zealand since 2007. Their permits expired in 2010 and they were residing in New Zealand unlawfully. They applied for refugee status under section 129 of the Immigration Act (“Act”) 2005 and for a protected person status under section 131 of the Act. The application was based on the impacts of climate change in Kiribati causing rising sea levels which would leave no place in Kiribati to reside in. A Refugee and Protection Officer declined the applicant’s application. The applicant then appealed to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal (“Tribunal”). The Tribunal dismissed his appeal, holding that he was neither a refugee within the meaning of Refugee Convention nor a protected person within the meaning of International Covenant on the Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”). The ruling was upheld on appeal.

[Parenthetically, the applicant filed a communication with the United Nations Human Rights Commission (HRC) that the New Zealand violated his right to life by forcibly returning him to Kiribati. Although the HRC denied the application, the HRC accepted that states have an obligation not to forcibly return individuals to places where climate change poses a real risk to their right to life.]