MZACJ & Anor v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection

[2015] HCASL 221

MZACJ & ANOR

v

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION & ANOR

[2015] HCASL 221
M194/2015

1. The applicants are citizens of India who applied for Protection (Class XA) visas.  Only the first applicant made protection claims; the visa application of the second applicant, his wife, was made on the basis of membership of the family unit.  On 27 March 2013, a delegate of the first respondent refused to grant the visas.  On 7 March 2014, the Refugee Review Tribunal ("the Tribunal") affirmed the delegate's decision.  The Tribunal found that the essential and significant reasons for the claimed threats against the first applicant were criminal greed and corruption, rather than any ground under the Refugees Convention.  The Tribunal did not accept many of the first applicant's claims but found that, even if they were accepted, it would be reasonably open to the applicants to relocate within India to avoid the harm feared.  Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicants were not persons to whom Australia had protection obligations.

2. On 17 March 2015, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia (Riley J) dismissed the applicants' application for judicial review of the Tribunal's decision, holding that the applicants had not identified any jurisdictional error.

3. On 12 August 2015, the Federal Court of Australia (Tracey J) dismissed the applicants' appeal.   The applicants sought leave to rely on a ground for review of the Tribunal's decision that was not argued in the Federal Circuit Court, and did not rely on any of the grounds advanced in that Court.  Tracey J found that, in any event, the applicants failed to identify any appellable error in the decision of the Federal Circuit Court.

4. The applicants now seek special leave to appeal to this Court.  Their draft notice of appeal and summary of argument do not identify any legal error in the decision of the Federal Court.  There is no reason to doubt the correctness of the decisions of the Tribunal or the Courts below.  Special leave is refused.

5. Pursuant to r 41.10.5 we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing the application.

S.M. Kiefel
10 December 2015 P.A. Keane