The European Court of Justice [official website] on Thursday struck down [judgment] a sexual orientation test used to consider asylum seekers’ applications but upheld the use of experts to determine credibility of claims made in the application.

The case arose [press release, PDF] from a Nigerian asylum seeker who was forced to undergo psychological evaluation before gaining asylum to determine if he was of homosexual orientation. In requesting asylum, he claimed he was homosexual and that he faced persecution in Nigeria where homosexuality is illegal. The Hungarian psychologist used questionable tests to evaluate the Nigerian man and ultimately concluded that the man was not homosexual.

On appeal, the court examined the use of experts to further evaluate the asylum seeker’s claim for needing international protection. It focused mostly on aspects of consent and the the value given to questionable psychological tests. The court found expert evaluation may be permitted, but the lower court should consider three conditions when determining if it is proper:

(i) the examination of the applicant takes place with the consent of the applicant and is carried out in a manner that respects the applicant’s dignity and private and family life; (ii) the opinion is based on methods, principles and notions that are sufficiently reliable and relevant in the circumstances of the case, and may produce sufficiently reliable results; and (iii) the expert’s findings are not binding for the national courts reviewing the decision on the application.

The case will go back to the lower court and that court will use this ruling in determining whether the psychological evaluation was proper.