SZDBG & Anor v MIMIA

[2005] HCATrans 1019

[2005] HCATrans 1019

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Office of the Registry
  Sydney  No S392 of 2005

B e t w e e n -

SZDBG

First Applicant

SZDBH

Second Applicant

and

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Respondent

Application for special leave to appeal

Publication of reasons and pronouncement of orders

GUMMOW J
HEYDON J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT CANBERRA ON THURSDAY, 15 DECEMBER 2005, AT 9.33 AM

Copyright in the High Court of Australia

GUMMOW J:   The applicants are citizens of Bangladesh.  The applicant husband claims to fear political persecution.  The Refugee Review Tribunal affirmed a decision of a delegate of the Minister not to grant the applicants protection visas.  The applicants failed to attend a hearing before the Tribunal after having been invited to do so.  An adjournment of the hearing was requested on the ground that the applicant wife was seventeen weeks pregnant.  The Tribunal considered that this assertion did not provide satisfactory grounds without medical evidence that either of the applicants had a medical condition that prevented them from attending.  There was no explanation at all for the applicant husband’s failure to attend the hearing.  The Tribunal therefore determined the claim for refugee status on the basis of the applicants’ written material.  The Tribunal considered that the applicant husband’s claims were not supported by any evidence, and so rejected his claims to have been a political activist and to be at risk of persecution.

The applicants’ application for judicial review was dismissed by the Federal Magistrates Court as demonstrating no jurisdictional error in the Tribunal’s decision.  An appeal to the Federal Court was dismissed by Madgwick J.  The Federal Magistrate and Madgwick J each held that the Tribunal had not erred in refusing to postpone the hearing.

We have considered the applicants’ written case and the decisions of the Tribunal, the Federal Magistrates Court and the Federal Court.  There would be insufficient prospects of success on any appeal to this Court from the Federal Court to warrant a grant of special leave.  Accordingly the application for special leave is refused.

Pursuant to r 41.10.5 we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing the application for special leave.  I publish the disposition signed by Heydon J and myself.

AT 9.34 AM THE MATTER WAS CONCLUDED