M87 of 2002 v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs

The case involves M87 of 2002, the appellant, who is challenging a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal. The appellant contested the Tribunal's rejection of his application for a refugee visa, arguing that it was based on a disbelief of his account and that there was a breach of procedural fairness. The Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs was the respondent, and the Refugee Review Tribunal was later added as a second respondent. The primary judge dismissed the appellant's application, and the appellant appealed this decision to a higher court.

The court was required to decide whether the Tribunal's decision was based on a disbelief of the appellant's account, and if so, whether this was a lawful basis for the decision. Additionally, the court had to determine if there was a breach of procedural fairness in the Tribunal's handling of the case, specifically regarding the use of country information and the appellant's opportunity to respond to it.

The court found that the Tribunal's decision was primarily based on its disbelief in the appellant's account, which was a lawful basis for the decision. The court rejected the appellant's claim that there was a breach of procedural fairness, as the Tribunal had considered the country information in the context of the appellant's credibility and the consequences of his alleged involvement with the JVP. The court also held that it was not in the interests of justice to allow the appellant to raise new grounds of appeal, as they were bound to fail due to the lack of evidence supporting the appellant's claims.

The court dismissed the appeal and ordered that the Refugee Review Tribunal be added as the second respondent, the appeal be dismissed, and the appellant pay the first respondent's costs of the appeal.