SZCLQ v MIMIA

[2005] HCATrans 490

[2005] HCATrans 490

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Office of the Registry
  Sydney  No S414 of 2004

B e t w e e n -

SZCLQ

Applicant

and

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Respondent

Application for special leave to appeal

Publication of reasons and pronouncement of orders

GLEESON CJ
GUMMOW J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT CANBERRA ON THURSDAY, 4 AUGUST 2005, AT 9.38 AM

Copyright in the High Court of Australia

GLEESON CJ:   The applicant is a citizen of Thailand.  She claims to be entitled to refugee status by reason of a well-founded fear of persecution on grounds of her membership of a particular social group being a group of business people similar to a union and of her imputed political opinion.

The Refugee Review Tribunal affirmed the decision of a delegate of the Minister to refuse to grant the applicant a protection visa.  The Tribunal wrote to the applicant advising her that it had considered all the papers relating to her application but it was unable to make a favourable decision on that information alone.  The applicant was invited to give oral evidence before the Tribunal.  The Tribunal received no response to this correspondence.  Nor did the applicant attend the hearing before the Tribunal.  On the evidence before the Tribunal, her claims remained unsubstantiated.

The applicant sought review of the Tribunal’s decision in the Federal Magistrates Court.  The Registrar of that Court summarily dismissed her application following her failure to attend a directions hearing.  The Court dismissed a motion to set aside the order of the Registrar and added that, in any event, the applicant could not demonstrate jurisdictional error in the Tribunal’s decision.  An application for leave to appeal to the Federal Court (Tamberlin J) was dismissed, again following a failure by the applicant to attend.

There are no prospects of success on an appeal from the Federal Court to this Court.  Accordingly, 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 this application for special leave.

AT 9.40 AM THE MATTER WAS CONCLUDED