SZEHN v MIMIA & Anor

[2006] HCATrans 190

[2006] HCATrans 190

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Office of the Registry
  Sydney  No S532 of 2005

B e t w e e n -

SZEHN

Applicant

and

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

First Respondent

REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL

Second Respondent

Application for special leave to appeal

Publication of reasons and pronouncement of orders

GUMMOW J
HEYDON J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT CANBERRA ON WEDNESDAY, 12 APRIL 2006, AT 9.42 AM

Copyright in the High Court of Australia

GUMMOW J:   The applicant is a citizen of Bangladesh and a Muslim who claims to fear religious persecution from Islamic fundamentalists.  His claim for a protection visa was rejected by the Refugee Review Tribunal.  The Tribunal found that significant aspects of the applicant’s evidence were “internally inconsistent, inconsistent with the independent evidence, implausible and confused” and on that basis was unable to be satisfied that the applicant had a genuine subjective fear of persecution should he return to Bangladesh.

The Federal Magistrates Court dismissed the applicant’s application for judicial review. An appeal to the Federal Court was dismissed by Lindgren J. His Honour held that no jurisdictional error arose from the failure of the Tribunal to refer to all of the evidence provided by the applicant in response to a request by the Tribunal for comment pursuant to s 424A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) in relation to the applicant’s claim to fear persecution from Islamic fundamentalists due to his marriage to a Hindu woman. His Honour observed that the Tribunal was not obliged to refer to every individual piece of evidence, and found that the findings of the Tribunal were not inconsistent with having considered the evidence provided by the applicant.

There would be insufficient prospects of success on any appeal to this Court from the Federal Court to warrant a grant of special leave.  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 9.43 AM THE MATTER WAS CONCLUDED