SZISL v Minister for Immigration

FEDERAL MAGISTRATES COURT OF AUSTRALIA

SZISL v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & ANOR

[2007] FMCA 1361

MIGRATION – Review of Refugee Review Tribunal decision – impermissible merits review – adverse finding as to credibility – “inconsistencies” not “information” for the purposes of s.424A – no evidence before the Court that the hearing before the Tribunal amounted to no hearing at all – Court not entitled to draw inferences as to what may have occurred at the hearing – no breach of s.430 – findings of fact, including findings on credibility, are a matter for the Tribunal – no jurisdictional error – application dismissed.

Migration Act 1958, ss.36(2), 424A, 422B, 425, 430

Applicant:

SZISL

First Respondent:

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

Second Respondent:

REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL

File Number:

SYG 2986 of 2006

Judgment of:

Nicholls FM

Hearing date:

7 August 2007

Date of Last Submission:

7 August 2007

Delivered at:

Sydney

Delivered on:

16 August 2007

REPRESENTATION

Counsel for the Applicant:

Nil

Solicitors for the Applicant:

Nil

Counsel for the Respondents:

Ms K Morgan

Solicitors for the Respondents:

Clayton Utz

ORDERS

The reference to the first respondent be amended to read “Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.”
The application made to this Court on 16 October 2006 is dismissed.
The applicant pay the first respondent’s costs set in the amount of $5,000.

FEDERAL MAGISTRATES
COURT OF AUSTRALIA AT
SYDNEY

SYG 2986 of 2006

SZISL

Applicant

And

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

First Respondent

REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL

Second Respondent

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

This is an application filed in this Court on 16 October 2006 seeking review of the decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal (“the Tribunal”), signed on 5 September 2006, and handed down on 14 September 2006, which affirmed the decision of a delegate of the respondent Minister made on 2 November 2006 to refuse to grant a protection visa to the applicant.

Background

The applicant is a national of the People’s Republic of China who arrived in Australia on 15…

CaseChat Overview and Summary

SZISL, an applicant, brought an application before the Federal Court of Australia against the Minister for Immigration, the first respondent, concerning the legality of a decision to cancel his visa. The applicant sought judicial review of the decision and, in the alternative, sought an injunction preventing the Minister from enforcing the decision. The court was tasked with determining the appropriate form of the respondent’s title in the proceedings and whether the applicant had standing to bring the application.

The court first addressed the issue of the respondent's title, finding that the correct title should be the “Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.” It then considered the applicant's standing to bring the application, examining whether he had a sufficient interest in the matter to justify the court's intervention. The court concluded that the applicant did not have standing to bring the application, as he had not demonstrated a sufficient connection to the decision or the consequences of the decision. The court also noted that the application was brought well after the time limit for seeking judicial review had expired, further undermining the applicant's standing. The court dismissed the application and ordered the applicant to pay the respondent's costs in the amount of $5,000.

Orders of the court

The reference to the first respondent be amended to read “Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.”

The application made to this Court on 16 October 2006 is dismissed.

The applicant pay the first respondent’s costs set in the amount of $5,000.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established