A Romanian woman who threatened to commit suicide if returned to her country was yesterday granted leave by the High Court to challenge a decision by the Minister for Justice to deport her.
Mr Justice Peart said Ms Lidia Cosma had arrived here in September 1999 seeking refugee status on the basis of the guilt and trauma she felt about being responsible in some way for the death of her sister's baby who died while in her care in Romania.
A consultant psychiatrist reported that while he did not know Ms Cosma well enough to be certain, he had to take her threat of suicide "with the strong possibility that she will end her life if she is sent back to a country where she still feels as if she were looked upon as a criminal".
Her application for refugee status was refused and on July 17th, 2003, she was informed of the decision to make a deportation order against her.
Mr Justice Peart referred to a medical report that stated there were too many risks attached to deporting her to "what she considers to be a hostile environment in Romania".
The issue was not that the Minister failed to consider the medical reports but that his decision to deport her failed to vindicate her right to life as guaranteed by the Constitution due to the substantial risks of suicide confirmed by the medical reports obtained, the judge argued.
The constitutionally guaranteed right to life must trump any right or obligation of the Minister to uphold the integrity of the asylum process, he said. It was also submitted that, although the act of suicide was an act of the applicant and not the State, it would be the action by the State in deporting Ms Cosma which could be the event that would cause her to end her life.
Mr Justice Peart concluded the arguments raised constituted substantial grounds for the granting of leave to bring proceedings challenging the Minister's decision.