New Zealand established the RSAA as part of its responsibility to uphold the right of asylum as a result of being a signatory of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol.
[5] The Immigration Act stated the Chairperson “is responsible for making such arrangements as are necessary or desirable to ensure the orderly and expeditious discharge of the functions of the Authority.
[8]" For a claim to be successful, the claimant had to establish a "well-founded fear of persecution" by fulfilling the standard of proof.
To determine whether this standard had been met, the RSAA had the powers of the Commission of Enquiry to verify facts and produce likely scenarios that may occur upon the claimant's return to their country of origin.
If the RSAA decided there was a real chance of persecution, they would then have to establish whether this fear was due to a reason outlined in the Refugee Convention.
The RSAA decided to follow the approach in Ward[21] to determine a particular social group by identifying crucial factors of an individual's identity or conscience.
[22]” The RSAA made high-profile decisions concerning sexual orientation and gender discrimination as particular social groups for the purposes of the Refugee Convention.
[26] This approach towards sexual orientation was cited by the House of Lords in Islam Secretary of State for the Home Department[27] and Regina v Immigration Appeal Tribunal + another ex parte Shah AP.
In Refugee Appeal No 2039/93 the claimant was not a virgin and if she was returned home and forced to marry, this could have potentially resulted in her death.
The claimant in this case had also undergone a ‘self-awareness process’ that made her opposed to the oppression of women in Iranian society.
In Refugee Appeal No 71427/99 the claimant had divorced her abusive husband and had rediscovered her child he had adopted out without her knowing.
[37] The RSAA also took into account Iranian society and its tolerance of domestic violence and the denial to recognise women as human beings possessing the same status as men.
The Refugee Status Branch of the New Zealand Immigration Service, said there was a well-founded fear of persecution, but refugee status was denied due to evidence given by the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) that indicated Zaoui's involvement in criminal and terrorist activity.
His case attracted media attention during his time in prison awaiting his deportation to Iran when he started religious fasting.
The media attention meant that Iran became aware of the claimant's conversion, putting him in danger if he did return home.
The RSAA decided the third appeal in the claimant's favour due to a well-founded fear of persecution on the grounds of religion.