NAEH v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural &

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

NAEH v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural &
Indigenous Affairs [2003] FCAFC 28

MIGRATION – judicial review – Refugee – particular social group – women in Iran who have clashed with authority – whether Tribunal considered particular social group – underlying fact findings of no well-founded fear of persecution – social group issue academic – appeal dismissed.

Migration Act 1958 (Cth)
Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) s 39B

NAEH OF 2002 v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL
AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

N 873 OF 2002

FRENCH, LINDGREN AND FINKELSTEIN JJ
27 FEBRUARY 2003
SYDNEY

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY	N 873 OF 2002

ON APPEAL FROM A JUDGE OF THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

BETWEEN:	NAEH OF 2002 APPELLANTS
AND:	MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS RESPONDENT
JUDGES:	FRENCH, LINDGREN AND FINKELSTEIN JJ
DATE OF ORDER:	27 FEBRUARY 2003
WHERE MADE:	SYDNEY

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1.        The appeal be dismissed.

2.        The appellants pay the respondent’s costs.

Note:    Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of the Federal Court Rules.

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY	N 873 OF 2002

ON APPEAL FROM A JUDGE OF THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

BETWEEN:	NAEH OF 2002 APPELLANTS
AND:	MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS RESPONDENT

JUDGES:	FRENCH, LINDGREN AND FINKELSTEIN JJ
DATE:	27 FEBRUARY 2003
PLACE:	SYDNEY

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

FRENCH J:

1. The appellants are Iranian nationals, husband, wife and child, who arrived in Australia on 23 September 1998.  They lodged an application for protection visas for each of them on 6 November 1998.  The application was refused by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs on 15 December 1998.  On 23 December 1998, they applied to the Refugee Review Tribunal for a review of the delegate’s decision.  The Tribunal affirmed the delegate’s decision on 12 May 1999 but on 22 October 1999 that decision was set aside by an order of this Court and the matter remitted to the Tribunal to be dealt with according to law.

2. The second Tribunal again affirmed the delegate’s decision on 9 May 2000.  The appellants again succeeded upon judicial review in having that decision set aside by the Federal Court and the matter remitted.  On 7 January 2002, a third Tribunal again affirmed the delegate’s decision.  The appellants’ application for judicial review of that decision was dismissed by Branson J on 30 July 2002.  They now appeal against her Honour’s decision.

3. The application for relief under section 39B of the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) brought before Branson J was concerned with the Tribunal's treatment of the appellant wife's claims. These were set out in a statutory declaration made in support of her application. It referred to a number of incidents in which she said she had fallen foul of Iranian authorities in relation, inter alia, to dress codes for women in 1982, 1991, 1992 and 1998.

4. The incidents to…