Kaur and Ors v Minister For Immigration and Anor (No.2)

This matter concerned an application for judicial review brought by the applicants, Ms. Kaur and others, against the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection and the Commonwealth of Australia. The applicants sought to challenge the lawfulness of decisions made by the Minister to refuse to grant them protection visas. The proceedings were heard in the Federal Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Minister's decisions to refuse the protection visa applications were vitiated by jurisdictional error. Specifically, the applicants contended that the Minister failed to consider relevant considerations and took into account irrelevant considerations when assessing their claims for protection, thereby breaching the requirements of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977* (Cth).

Judge Riethmuller found that the Minister's delegate had failed to adequately consider the applicants' claims regarding their fear of persecution in their country of origin, particularly in relation to specific aspects of their evidence and the prevailing country information. The Court held that this failure constituted a jurisdictional error, as it meant the delegate did not properly exercise the power conferred by the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act*. The delegate's assessment was found to be superficial and did not engage with the substance of the applicants' claims in a manner required by law.

Consequently, the Court made orders quashing the decisions of the Minister to refuse the protection visas. The matter was remitted to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.