2203547 (Refugee)

The applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the Refugee Tribunal to confirm the dismissal of their application for a protection visa. The applicant had failed to attend a scheduled hearing before the Tribunal, which led to the application being dismissed.

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 reasoned that under the relevant legislative framework, if an applicant fails to attend a hearing and does not apply for reinstatement within 14 days of the dismissal, the Tribunal is mandated to confirm the decision to dismiss the application. As the applicant did not meet the reinstatement deadline, the Tribunal had no discretion but to confirm the dismissal. Consequently, the decision under review was taken to be affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed its decision to dismiss the application.