Includes bibliographical references and index.

The wrong mistake -- Setting the scene -- The wrong mistake : sending a refugee home -- Resolving doubt in the claimant's favour -- The wrong mistake : accepting an unfounded claim -- Resolving doubt at the claimant's expense -- In the hearing room -- A way forward.

"Which mistake is worse: to deny a refugee claim that should have been granted, or to grant a claim that should have been denied? The law that governs fact-finding in any legal domain is built on a judgment about which potential error a decision-maker should prefer. Decisions to grant or deny refugee protection often hinge on findings of fact, yet refugee law has not engaged with this question. This hole in the law's foundations may well be undermining refugee protection across the globe, for as this book intends to show, it is contributing daily to the dysfunction of one the world's most respected refugee determination systems"-- Provided by publisher.