Re Ruddock; Ex parte Reyes

The applicants, Mr. and Mrs. Reyes, sought constitutional relief in the form of writs of prohibition and mandamus against the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and the principal member of the Migration Review Tribunal, respectively. The dispute concerned whether the Immigration Review Tribunal had made a jurisdictional error in its decision regarding the applicants' migration matters.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the Immigration Review Tribunal had indeed committed a jurisdictional error, and if so, whether the constitutional relief sought by the applicants was properly directed against the Minister and the principal member of the Tribunal. The Court was also required to consider whether the person constituting the tribunal should be a respondent to an application for constitutional relief.

McHugh J dismissed the applications. While the judgment was ex tempore, the reasoning indicated that the applicants had not established a jurisdictional error on the part of the Immigration Review Tribunal. Consequently, the applications for writs of prohibition and mandamus were refused.