SZHGY v MIMA

[2007] HCATrans 35

[2007] HCATrans 035

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Office of the Registry
  Sydney  No S243 of 2006

B e t w e e n -

SZHGY

Applicant

and

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL 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 THURSDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 2007, AT 9.26 AM

Copyright in the High Court of Australia

GUMMOW J:   The applicant is a citizen of Bangladesh who claims to fear persecution on the basis of his religious conversion to the Ahmadiyya faith from the Sunni faith.  The Refugee Review Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) accepted the applicant’s claim of conversion, but was not satisfied that practising the Ahmadiyya faith could sustain a well-founded fear of persecution in Bangladesh.

The applicant sought judicial review of the Tribunal’s decision in the Federal Magistrates Court.  This was dismissed by Barnes FM on 11 August 2004.  An appeal from that decision was dismissed in the Federal Court by Allsop J, and the applicant was refused special leave in this Court on 8 September 2005 by Hayne and Callinan JJ.

The applicant then filed on 5 August 2005 a fresh application seeking review of the same Tribunal decision.  Lloyd-Jones FM ruled that the Tribunal’s decision was a privative clause decision and there had been no jurisdictional error established.  The decision of Lloyd-Jones FM was upheld in the Federal Court by Moore J. 

In the case before this Court the applicant has not addressed the threshold issues of res judicata, estoppel and abuse of process that arise through his second appeal from the Tribunal’s decision.  No satisfactory reason to depart from previous decisions in relation to the visa application has been shown.  There would be no prospects of success on any appeal to this Court.  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 9.27 AM THE MATTER WAS CONCLUDED