1708319 (Refugee)

The applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the Refugee Tribunal to dismiss their application for a protection visa. The dismissal occurred because the applicant failed to attend a scheduled hearing before the Tribunal.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was required to confirm the dismissal of the applicant's protection visa application, given the applicant's failure to attend the hearing and their subsequent failure to apply for reinstatement within the prescribed 14-day period.

The Tribunal Member, Christopher Smolicz, reasoned that under the relevant legislative framework, the failure to apply for reinstatement within the 14-day period mandated the confirmation of the dismissal decision. Consequently, the decision under review was taken to be affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed the decision to dismiss the application.