AKRAM v Minister for Immigration

In the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, Akram (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision made by the Minister for Immigration (the respondent) to refuse to grant a protection visa. The applicant, who claimed to be a national of Afghanistan, alleged persecution based on his membership of a particular social group.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the delegate of the Minister had erred in finding that the applicant had not established a real chance of suffering persecution for a reason specified in section 91R(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This involved a consideration of whether the applicant's claimed membership of a particular social group was a real chance of persecution, and whether the assessment of the evidence by the delegate was reasonable.

Judge Manousaridis found that the delegate had failed to adequately consider the applicant's evidence regarding his alleged membership of a particular social group and the potential for persecution arising from that membership. The delegate's assessment was found to be cursory and did not engage with the specific factual matrix presented by the applicant. Consequently, the court concluded that the decision was affected by jurisdictional error. The application for judicial review was therefore granted.