SZEBH v MIMIA

[2005] HCATrans 548

[2005] HCATrans 548

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Office of the Registry
  Sydney  No S186 of 2005

B e t w e e n -

SZEBH

Applicant

and

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Respondent

Application for special leave to appeal

Publication of reasons and pronouncement of orders

McHUGH J
HEYDON J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT SYDNEY ON FRIDAY, 5 AUGUST 2005, AT 9.01 AM

Copyright in the High Court of Australia

McHUGH J:   This is an application for special leave to appeal against the decision of Moore J of the Federal Court, given on 8 April 2005.  His Honour dismissed an appeal against the decision of a Federal Magistrate, given on 22 November 2004, confirming a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal to affirm a decision of the Minister’s delegate to refuse the applicant’s application for a protection visa. 

The applicant is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China and a Falun Gung practitioner.  She claims to fear persecution by reason of her membership of Falun Gong.  She claims that she and her husband were detained in 1995, and that she was again jailed for an extended period in 2003.  She arrived in Australia on 15 February 2004 and applied for a protection visa on 25 February 2004.

Moore J dismissed the appeal on the basis that the applicant did not raise any point of principle.  The same is true of her submissions in support of her application for special leave to appeal to this Court, which relate exclusively to the factual conclusions made by the Tribunal.  Having regard to the applicant’s difficulties with English and the fact that she is self‑represented in this application, we have scrutinised the decisions of the Tribunal and the Courts below in order to ascertain whether they contain any errors of law, notwithstanding the absence of any such argument in the applicant’s submissions.  The Tribunal’s reasons amount to not much more than a rehearsal of the relevant statutory provisions, and the manner in which they must be interpreted.  With respect to the particulars of this case, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not provided enough evidence to support her claims to be a Falun Gong practitioner, or to have suffered persecution as a result of that membership, if it existed.  These are purely factual findings.  They do not raise any question of law, let alone any error of law sufficient to justify the intervention of this Court.  Accordingly, the application for special leave must be refused.

The application for special leave is dismissed.

Pursuant to r 41.10.5 we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order that the application is dismissed.  I publish our joint reasons.

The Court will now adjourn.

AT 9.01 AM THE MATTER WAS CONCLUDED