2009337 (Refugee)

The applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the Refugee Tribunal to affirm its earlier decision to dismiss the applicant's application for a protection visa. The applicant's application had been dismissed due to a failure to attend a scheduled hearing before the Tribunal.

The primary 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 subsequent failure to apply for reinstatement within the prescribed 14-day period.

The Tribunal reasoned that under the relevant legislative provisions, where an applicant fails to attend a hearing and does not apply for reinstatement within the specified timeframe, the Tribunal is mandated to confirm the decision to dismiss the application. Consequently, the Tribunal found that the decision under review, which affirmed the dismissal, was to be taken as affirmed. The Tribunal therefore confirmed its decision to dismiss the application.