MZWHW v MIMIA

[2005] HCATrans 797

[2005] HCATrans 797

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Office of the Registry
  Melbourne  No M45 of 2005

B e t w e e n -

MZWHW

Applicant

and

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Respondent

Application for special leave to appeal

Publication of reasons and pronouncement of orders

GUMMOW J
KIRBY J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT CANBERRA ON THURSDAY, 6 OCTOBER 2005, AT 9.24 AM

Copyright in the High Court of Australia

GUMMOW J:   The applicant is a citizen of Sri Lanka of Sinhalese background.  He arrived in Australia in August 1998 and claims to be entitled to refugee status by reason of a well-founded fear of persecution on grounds of an imputed political opinion.

The Refugee Review Tribunal affirmed the decision of a delegate of the Minister to refuse to grant the applicant a protection visa.  The Tribunal rejected the applicant’s claim that he had been subjected to interrogation, detention and mistreatment at the hands of police in Sri Lanka, who had suspected him of being involved in terrorist activities conducted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

The applicant sought review of the Tribunal’s decision in the Federal Court (Ryan J).  That application for review was dismissed by his Honour, and an appeal from his Honour’s decision to the Full Court of the Federal Court was also dismissed.  Thereafter, the applicant filed in this Court an application for an order nisi, which was remitted to the Federal Court and refused by Heerey J.  The applicant did not appeal from his Honour’s decision.  However, he did subsequently seek review of the Tribunal’s decision in the Federal Magistrates Court.  Noting that the impugned Tribunal decision had already been the subject of litigation both before Ryan J and in the Full Court, McInnis FM held that the proceedings brought by the applicant were an abuse of process and on that basis summarily dismissed his application for review.  An appeal from that decision to the Federal Court (Kenny J) was dismissed.

We have reviewed the applicant’s written case and the decisions of the Tribunal, the Federal Magistrates Court and the Federal Court.  There are no prospects of success in any appeal to this Court from the decision of the Federal Court.  Accordingly, special leave to appeal is refused. 

Pursuant to r 41.10.5 we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing this application for special leave.  I publish the disposition signed by Kirby J and myself.

AT 9.26 AM THE MATTER WAS CONCLUDED