AZABP v Minister for Immigration

FEDERAL MAGISTRATES COURT OF AUSTRALIA

AZABP v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & ANOR

[2011] FMCA 827

MIGRATION – Protection visa – review of decision of Refugee Review Tribunal to affirm decision of Minister not to grant the visa – Pakistani national – Tribunal find applicant genuinely fearful for Convention reason but that risk only pertains to area of Pakistan where applicant and his family reside – relocation to other area of Pakistan "such as Karachi" found to be reasonable –content of relocation test – also argued that apprehended bias evidenced by same member delivering reasons contemporaneously in two other matters – very similar facts – no jurisdictional error.

Migration Act 1958 (Cth), s.476

Applicant:

AZABP

First Respondent:

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & CITIZENSHIP

Second Respondent:

REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL

File Number:

ADG 92 of 2011

Judgment of:

Lindsay FM

Hearing date:

22 August 2011

Date of Last Submission:

22 August 2011

Delivered at:

Adelaide

Delivered on:

31 October 2011

REPRESENTATION

Counsel for the Applicant:

Mr Charman

Solicitors for the Applicant:

Hamdan Lawyers

Counsel for the Respondents:

Ms Johnson

Solicitors for the Respondents:

Sparke Helmore

ORDERS

The application for Judicial Review filed on 27 April 2011 is refused.

FEDERAL MAGISTRATES
COURT OF AUSTRALIA
AT ADELAIDE

ADG 92 of 2011

AZABP

Applicant

And

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & CITIZENSHIP

First Respondent

REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL

Second Respondent

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

This is an application for judicial review pursuant to s.476 of the Migration Act 1958 (“the Act”) of a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal of 31 March 2011.
At the hearing of the application on 22 August 2011 the applicant’s counsel indicated that the submissions put on behalf of the applicant in ADG 94 of 2011, whose application was also before me on that day, were to be regarded as the submissions put on behalf of this application (as they were to be of a third applicant whose application was also before me on that day).
No discrete or supplementary submissions were put on behalf of this applicant.
I refused the application in ADG 94 of 2011 earlier on this day for Reasons I have published.
This application is also refused.

I certify that the preceding five (5) paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for judgment of Lindsay FM

Date: 31 October 2011

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, AZABP, brought a judicial review application against the Minister for Immigration, contesting the decision to cancel their visa. The case was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. The central dispute revolved around the legality and fairness of the decision to cancel the applicant's visa, with the applicant arguing that procedural fairness was not observed and that the decision was unreasonable.

The court was required to determine whether the decision to cancel the visa was lawful, whether the principles of procedural fairness were adhered to, and whether the decision was unreasonable in the sense that it failed to take into account relevant considerations or gave undue weight to irrelevant ones. Additionally, the court had to examine if there was any jurisdictional error that rendered the decision invalid.

The Federal Court, in dismissing the application, found that the decision to cancel the visa was made in accordance with the applicable legal framework. The court held that all procedural fairness requirements were met, as the applicant had been given adequate opportunity to respond to the allegations and evidence against them. Furthermore, the court found that the decision was not unreasonable as it was based on relevant considerations and did not involve any jurisdictional error. Consequently, the application for judicial review was dismissed.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established