MZAFH v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection

This appeal was brought by three Lebanese nationals, each seeking protection in Australia on the basis of their conversion to the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Tribunal had rejected their claims, and the Federal Circuit Court had dismissed their application for judicial review. The appellants sought leave to appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court. The appeal was allowed on one ground, and the matter was remitted to the Federal Circuit Court for further consideration. The appellants were Lebanese nationals. The first appellant had studied at university in Beirut and had converted to the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses during that time. He had not pursued his religious beliefs openly for fear of reprisals from his family. The second appellant had also converted to the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The third appellant had been born in Australia and was also a Lebanese national. The appellants had applied to the Tribunal for protection visas, and the Tribunal had rejected their claims. The appellants applied to the Federal Circuit Court for judicial review of the Tribunal’s decision. The Federal Circuit Court dismissed the application for judicial review. The appellants sought leave to appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court. The court considered that four of the grounds of appeal should be dismissed. However, the court found that the fifth ground of appeal, which concerned whether the Federal Circuit Court had addressed a ground of judicial review, was properly before it. The court found that the Federal Circuit Court had failed to address that ground of appeal, and that it was not possible to say that the failure to do so would inevitably have led to the same outcome. The court therefore allowed the appeal on that ground, set aside the orders of the Federal Circuit Court, and remitted the matter to the Federal Circuit Court for further consideration. The court ordered that the Minister pay the costs of the appeal.