GG & JFG

The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia, comprising Kay, Holden and Coleman JJ, considered an appeal concerning the interpretation and application of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The appeal arose from a decision of a single judge of the Federal Court and involved the review of a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The central dispute revolved around the Tribunal's assessment of whether the appellant met the criteria for a protection visa.

The primary legal issues before the Full Court were whether the Tribunal had erred in law by: (1) failing to adequately consider all relevant evidence pertaining to the appellant's claims of persecution; (2) misinterpreting the scope of the non-refoulement obligations under international law as applied to the appellant's circumstances; and (3) failing to provide adequate reasons for its adverse findings against the appellant. The Court was required to determine if the Tribunal's decision was affected by jurisdictional error.

The Full Court analysed the evidence presented to the Tribunal and the Tribunal's written reasons. It applied established principles of administrative law regarding the duty to provide adequate reasons and the standard of review for errors of law. The Court found that the Tribunal had indeed failed to properly engage with significant portions of the evidence and had applied an incorrect legal standard in assessing the risk of harm. Consequently, the Court concluded that the Tribunal's decision was affected by jurisdictional error.

The Full Court allowed the appeal, set aside the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, and remitted the matter to the Tribunal for redetermination according to law.