Afh15 v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, Afh15, sought judicial review of a decision made by an officer of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. The Minister for Immigration applied for summary dismissal of the proceeding. The Federal Circuit Court of Australia, presided over by Dowdy J, considered the application for summary dismissal.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the applicant's current application for judicial review was barred by principles of *res judicata* and issue estoppel, and whether it constituted an abuse of process. This arose because the applicant was advancing the same argument and seeking to relitigate an issue that had been previously and adversely decided against them in *Afh15 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection* [2016] FCCA 99; 308 FLR 369.

Dowdy J reasoned that the doctrine of *res judicata* and issue estoppel applied to prevent the relitigation of claims and issues that have already been finally determined by a competent court. The court found that the current proceeding raised the same essential questions and relied on the same factual matrix as the prior litigation. Consequently, the court concluded that the proceeding was vexatious and an abuse of the court's process.

The Minister's application for summary dismissal was granted, and the proceeding was dismissed.