Nahm v MIMIA

[2005] HCATrans 928

[2005] HCATrans 928

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Office of the Registry
  Sydney  No S344 of 2005

B e t w e e n -

NAHM

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 MONDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2005, AT 2.32 PM

Copyright in the High Court of Australia

GUMMOW J:   The applicant is a citizen of Bangladesh who arrived in Australia in September 2000.  He claims to be entitled to refugee status by reason of a well-founded fear of political persecution.

The Refugee Review Tribunal affirmed the decision of a delegate of the Minister to refuse to grant the applicant a protection visa.  The Tribunal found that a series of photographs the applicant had submitted to it had been doctored in order to place a likeness of the applicant in the photographs.  This “deliberate attempt … to mislead the Tribunal” and the applicant’s “deliberately false and untrue evidence … cast such grave doubts on his credibility as to prevent the Tribunal from being satisfied as to the truth of any of his claims which are not supported by other and more reliable evidence”.  There was no other reliable evidence available.  The Tribunal was therefore unable to be satisfied on the material before it that the applicant had a well‑founded fear of persecution should he return to Bangladesh.

The applicant sought judicial review of the Tribunal’s decision in the Federal Magistrates Court.  That Court dismissed the application as demonstrating no jurisdictional error in the decision of the Tribunal.  An appeal to the Federal Court (Bennett J) was dismissed on 18 February 2004.  The applicant sought on 15 July 2005 special leave to appeal from that decision well out of time.

We have considered the applicant’s written case and the decisions of the Tribunal, the Federal Magistrates Court and the Federal Court.  There would be insufficient prospects of success in any appeal to this Court from the Federal Court to warrant a grant of special leave.  Accordingly, an extension of time in which to apply for 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 the application for an extension of time in which to apply for special leave.  I publish the disposition signed by Kirby J and myself.

AT 2.34 PM THE MATTER WAS CONCLUDED