Re Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; ex parte Epeabaka

In *Re Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; ex parte Epeabaka*, the High Court of Australia considered an application for constitutional writs of mandamus, prohibition, and certiorari. The applicant, Mr Faustin Epeabaka, sought to quash a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal, which had affirmed a delegate's refusal to grant him a protection visa. The Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs resisted the application. The core of the dispute concerned allegations of ostensible bias on the part of the Tribunal member who made the decision, Dr Rory Hudson.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether a reasonable apprehension of bias could be inferred from public statements made by Dr Hudson on his personal internet homepage. Specifically, the Court had to determine if these statements, made after the Tribunal's decision, could lead a reasonable person to apprehend that Dr Hudson might not have brought an impartial and unprejudiced mind to the applicant's case. The Court also considered whether Part 7 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) constituted a code that excluded the common law rules of natural justice, particularly the rule against ostensible bias.

The High Court reasoned that the statements made by Dr Hudson, while regrettable and potentially indicative of bias in another Tribunal member, did not, in the context of the applicant's case, lead to a reasonable apprehension of bias. The Court distinguished between statements that might suggest a general view on applicants who lie and the specific assessment of the present applicant's credibility. The Court found that the statements did not demonstrate that Dr Hudson might not have brought an impartial mind to bear on the applicant's case. The Court concluded that the *Migration Act* did not exclude the common law rules of natural justice and that the applicant had not established a reasonable apprehension of bias.

The application was dismissed with costs.