CAT/C/37/D/282/2005** Page 8 5.1 On 6 September 2006, the complainant argues that the jurisdiction of the Committee does include an independent review of the facts. 7 Its role would be redundant if it were merely to follow the decisions of domestic tribunals without any independent assessment of the case8. Further, the IRB, the only comprehensive evaluation of her case, failed to recognize the effects of torture or trauma on a person’s ability to recount her story. With regard to her credibility, the complainant argues that the evidence of four independent medical and psychological experts as well as letters from the Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture about her psychological state and the scars on her body corroborate her account of being tortured. She recalls that torture affects one’s ability to recount traumatic experiences in a coherent and consistent manner, and that complete accuracy is seldom to be expected from victims of torture, especially those suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 5.2 With regard to the State party’s argument that the complainant’s case has been reviewed by “competent, domestic tribunals”, and firstly as to the Immigration and Refugee Board (‘IRB’), the complainant notes that there is no reference whatsoever to training of IRB members on the effects of trauma or torture. There is also no reference to training on how IRB members understand or use medical and psychological reports as a tool in the assessment of credibility. The complainant recalls that at no time during the hearing did the IRB member appear to recognize that she displayed classic symptoms of trauma. The IRB member who heard her refugee application on 28 November 2002 had limited, if any, expertise in the effects of trauma or torture. Consequently, the member was distracted by minor inconsistencies in the testimony and failed to give due weight to the expert report of a psychologist, which was filed with the IRB on 10 September 2003. Since the IRB member found the complainant not credible, the psychological assessment was ignored. In other words, the Member assessed the complainant’s credibility without considering the effects of depression and PTSD, then dismissed the psychological report as irrelevant. 5.3 While the State party argues that the complainant benefited from several reviews by independent, competent tribunals after the refugee hearing, she submits that this is a misleading description of the process for failed refugee claimants. Indeed, judicial review is an extremely narrow remedy, available only on technical legal grounds, and applicants must obtain leave from the Court before they can proceed to judicial review. From 1998 to 2004, the Federal Court denied leave in 89% of cases. Of the 11% who were granted leave, only 1.6% of negative decisions by the IRB were overturned by the Federal Court. 5.4 With regard to the PRRA, the complainant recalls that its scope is limited to “new evidence”, not arguments that the initial decision by the IRB was wrong, and that in 2003 only 2.6% of PRRA applications were approved. She also recalls that she submitted new evidence which her family had sent her and that had not been available at the time of the IRB hearing. She filed a medical report confirming the scars on her body, evidence that she worked at Azad University, and a writ of summons issued by the Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Court. The PRRA officer rejected her application in July 2005 on the basis of lack of corroborating evidence. She emphasized that her jurisdiction was limited to review of “new evidence” and refused to consider the newly available documents relating to the complainant’s employment at the University because, in her opinion, the documents should 7 Counsel refers to Communication No. 258/2004, Dadar v. Canada, Views adopted on 23 November 2005, paragraph 8.8. 8 Ibid.