In asylum and immigration cases knowing the law is not enough. The judge has to take in consideration also the facts concerning the country where the asylum seeker is coming from. Does this sound reasonable? Let’s make an easy example. Every judge in Finland by now is well aware that in Iraq there is severe tension between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. (That was really easy.) But how many judges in Finland (or inspectors of the Finnish Immigration Service) know something about Iraqi tribal customs?
This is a really important question since the outcome of so many applications depend on it! As Finns, we have difficulties in understanding the tribal customs in Iraq and the decisions made by tribal leaders, also called Sheikhs. I suspect that many asylum applications handled by the Finnish Immigration Service and the Administrative Court of Helsinki are outright faulty because of the misleading thought: If it doesn’t happen in Finland, it cannot happen elsewhere.