AZAEA v Minister for Immigration

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

AZAEA v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & ANOR [2014] FCCA 1083

Catchwords:
MIGRATION – Review of Refugee Review Tribunal decision – where application made out of time – whether to grant application for an extension of time to make application – whether Tribunal failed to consider relevant country information – whether Tribunal considered applicant’s claim for complementary protection – where Tribunal disbelieved applicant as to why his family had relocated within home country – where Tribunal thereby disbelieved that family had relocated at all – where Tribunal considered generic claim only in relation to original home city – whether Tribunal’s reasoning in concluding that the applicant’s family had not relocated in his home country illogical – whether no rational or logical decision maker could arrive at same conclusion – whether Tribunal fell into jurisdictional error.

Legislation:  
Migration Act1958 (Cth) ss.65, 477

SZIFI v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2007] FCA 63

Applicant: AZAEA

First Respondent: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & BORDER PROTECTION

First Respondent: REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL

File Number: ADG 239 of 2013

Judgment of: Judge Raphael

Hearing date: 14 May 2014

Date of Last Submission: 14 May 2014

Delivered at: Adelaide

Delivered on: 14 May 2014

REPRESENTATION

For the Applicant: In Person

Counsel for the Respondent: Mr J Smith

Solicitors for the Respondent: Sparke Helmore

ORDERS

1. Name of the First Respondent be amended to “Minister for Immigration and Border Protection”.

2. Application for extension of time granted.

3. Application dismissed.

4. Applicant to pay the First Respondent’s costs assessed in the sum of $5,800.00.

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

AT ADELAIDE

ADG 239 of 2013

AZAEA

Applicant

And

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & BORDER PROTECTION

First Respondent

REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL

Second Respondent

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

1. The applicant is a citizen of Afghanistan. He is a Shia Muslim and a Hazara. He arrived in Australia on 29 March 2012 as an unauthorised maritime arrival. On 4 June 2012, he made an application to the Department of Immigration for a Protection (Class XA) visa under s.65 of the Migration Act1958 (Cth).[1]  A delegate of the Minister refused to grant him a protection visa on 26 July 2012.  The applicant applied for a review of that decision from the Refugee Review Tribunal.  He attended a hearing before the Tribunal where he was represented by a migration agent.  On 21 June 2013 the Tribunal determined to affirm the decision under review.

   [1] The ‘Act’.

2. The grounds upon which the applicant claimed to be a person to whom Australia owed protection obligations fell into two categories:  the generic and the specific.  The specific claims he made were that, as a result of his brother commencing a relationship with a Pashtun woman, his family, and in particular himself, became the subject of a feud between the parents of the Pashtun woman and his family.  He told that he believed he had been followed by persons associated with the Pashtun girl and had been harassed.  He stated that the girl’s family telephoned his family…