SZCBQ v MIMA

The applicant, SZCBQ, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (MIMA) to refuse to grant a protection visa. The dispute concerned whether the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution for a reason specified in the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The matter came before the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) had erred in law by failing to consider, or adequately consider, the applicant's claims regarding the risk of persecution by non-state actors, specifically the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in Sri Lanka. The applicant contended that the RRT had focused too narrowly on the risk of persecution by the Sri Lankan state and had not properly assessed the potential for harm from the LTTE.

The High Court, in allowing the appeal, held that the RRT had indeed failed to adequately consider the risk of persecution by the LTTE. Their Honours observed that the *Migration Act* requires consideration of persecution from any source, not solely from the state. The RRT's assessment had been confined to the actions of the Sri Lankan government, overlooking the possibility that the applicant could face persecution from the LTTE, a non-state actor, for reasons such as alleged collaboration with the government or for refusing to support their cause. This failure constituted an error of law.

The High Court set aside the decision of the Federal Court and remitted the matter to the Refugee Review Tribunal for redetermination according to law.