Azmerul Haque v Minister for Immigration

Azmerul Haque (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration (the respondent) to refuse his application for a Protection visa. The applicant, a citizen of Bangladesh, claimed to fear persecution in his home country due to his political opinions and his alleged involvement with a political party. The Minister had refused the visa application, finding that the applicant's claims were not substantiated and that he did not meet the criteria for a Protection visa.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Minister's decision to refuse the Protection visa was affected by jurisdictional error. This involved determining whether the delegate of the Minister had failed to consider relevant considerations or had taken into account irrelevant considerations when assessing the applicant's claims for protection, particularly in relation to the credibility of his asserted fear of persecution. The court also considered whether the delegate had adequately assessed the objective likelihood of the applicant suffering harm if returned to Bangladesh.

Judge Street found that the delegate had failed to properly consider crucial aspects of the applicant's evidence regarding his political activities and the potential consequences of his return to Bangladesh. Specifically, the delegate had not adequately engaged with the applicant's detailed account of his involvement with a particular political party and the specific threats he claimed to have received. The court held that this failure amounted to a jurisdictional error, as it meant the delegate had not undertaken the comprehensive assessment required by the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) when determining a claim for protection. The court emphasised the importance of a thorough and nuanced assessment of an applicant's subjective fears in conjunction with objective country information.

The court ordered that the decision of the Minister be set aside and remitted to the Minister for redetermination according to law.