El Ess & Anor, Ex parte - Re MIMA & Ors

This matter concerned an application for leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia, brought by El Ess and another party, against the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and others. The underlying dispute involved the validity of decisions made by the Minister concerning the applicants' immigration status.

The primary legal issue before Hayne J, sitting in chambers, was whether the applicants had demonstrated an arguable case of error in the decisions of the Minister, thereby justifying the grant of leave to appeal to the High Court. This required an assessment of whether the proposed grounds of appeal raised a question of law of sufficient importance to warrant the High Court's attention.

Hayne J considered the applicants' arguments regarding the interpretation and application of relevant migration legislation. His Honour applied the principles governing the grant of special leave to appeal, which require a compelling reason to depart from the decisions of lower courts. After reviewing the material before him, Hayne J concluded that the applicants had not established an arguable case of error that met the threshold for special leave.

Consequently, Hayne J refused the application for leave to appeal.