Perchine, Ex parte MIMA

This matter came before the High Court of Australia concerning an application for writs of certiorari, mandamus, prohibition, and an injunction. The applicants, Andrei Perchine and Ekaterina Perchina, sought these remedies against the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Giles Short (sitting as the Refugee Review Tribunal), and John Godfrey (acting Principal Member of the Refugee Review Tribunal). The applicants were represented by Mr. C.D. Jackson, while the first respondent was represented by Mr. M.A. Wigney. The second and third respondents indicated they would not be represented and would submit to the Court's order, save as to costs.

The primary legal issues before the Court involved the grounds upon which the applicants sought relief. These included allegations of bias, a failure to give notice, and a potential constructive failure to exercise jurisdiction. The Court also considered an additional ground of unreasonableness, specifically that findings of fact made by the Tribunal were so unreasonable that no reasonable Tribunal could have made them. The applicants sought leave to amend their application to include this ground, which the Court considered.

The Court's reasoning focused on procedural aspects and the proper formulation of the application. His Honour indicated an inclination to grant an order nisi, acknowledging that this represented a low hurdle at that stage. The Court granted leave to file a further amended draft order nisi, subject to specific conditions. These conditions included the deletion of a problematic "IT IS DIRECTED THAT" clause from page 3 of the document and the requirement for the applicants to particularise the findings of fact relied upon in support of the unreasonableness ground. The Court also extended the time for making applications for mandamus and certiorari to the following day, 21 February 2002, to accommodate the proposed amendments. The costs of the application were deemed costs in the cause.