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Type Cases
Jurisdiction Commonwealth
Database Federal Court of Australia
Year 1999
Citation [1999] FCA 1663

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C v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs [1999] FCA 1663 (2 December 1999)

Last Updated: 2 December 1999

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
C v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs [1999] FCA 1663

MIGRATION - application to review a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal - Bangladeshi applicant - supporter of BNP - applicant journalist left Bangladesh before change of government and reporting on government overseas - threats made to applicant by government minister while overseas - whether applicant had sufficient political profile to warrant attention of authorities - delay in application for protection visa until long after arrival in Australia - conclusions on credibility drawn from late application for protection visa - inconsistent reasons given for delay in application - finding that the applicant had no genuine fear of persecution if he were to return to Bangladesh - whether error of law.

MIGRATION - alleged error of law - whether Tribunal failed to apply "real chance" test - whether Tribunal obliged to ask "What if I am wrong?" in circumstances - whether reasons for decision complied with s 430 Migration Act 1958 (Cth) - whether the Tribunal failed to give adequate reasons.

MIGRATION - role of Amnesty International in migration appeals - Tribunal member questioned involvement of Amnesty - whether failure to take account of evidence from Amnesty involved an error of law.

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW - actual bias - whether the conduct of the Tribunal was such as to display pre-judgment - whether Tribunal member acted with such partisanship or hostility so as to show closed mind.

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE - application for review of Refugee Review Tribunal decision - no grounds of review in application - whether application competent - whether to dispense with compliance with Rules.

Migration Act 1958 (Cth) ss 36(2), 475, 476(1)(a), 477, 478(1) and 478(2)

Federal Court RulesO 1 r 8 and O 54B r 2(3)

Lazar v Taito (Australia) Pty Ltd[1985] FCA 35; (1985) 5 FCR 395 applied

Rishmawi v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs[1999] FCA 611 applied

Sharif v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs[1999] FCA 278 applied

Survival & Industrial Equipment (Newcastle) Pty Ltd v Owners of the Vessel "Alley Cat"[1992] FCA 242; (1992) 36 FCR 129 applied

Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Wu Shan Liang[1996] HCA 6; (1996) 185 CLR 259 applied

Chan Yee Kin v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs[1989] HCA 62; (1989) 169 CLR 379 applied

Sun Zhan Qui v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [1999] FCA 1663
Decision Date: 2 DECEMBER 1999

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of C v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs is a decision of the Federal Court of Australia. The applicant, a citizen of Bangladesh, sought a protection visa on the basis that he feared persecution if he returned to his home country. The Refugee Review Tribunal had rejected the applicant's claim and the applicant sought to have the Tribunal's decision reviewed. The applicant raised a number of grounds for review, including errors of law, actual bias, and inadequate reasons. The court found that the application for review should be dismissed. It concluded that there was no actual bias, the Tribunal had not erred in law, and the Tribunal's reasons were adequate. The court found that the Tribunal's conclusion that the applicant did not have a genuine fear of persecution was open to it, notwithstanding that there were other factors which pointed to the opposite conclusion.

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