SZLJC v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship

SZLJC sought judicial review of a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal which affirmed a decision of a delegate to refuse to grant a protection visa. The appellant, a Chinese citizen, claimed she had been persecuted due to her membership of an underground Christian church in China. The Tribunal found her claims were not credible and dismissed her application for review. The Federal Magistrate dismissed the application for judicial review, finding that the Tribunal had not erred in law or procedure. SZLJC appealed to the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia.

The appeal raised two grounds. First, that the Tribunal erred by not providing SZLJC with a transcript or tape of her Departmental interview and, second, that the Tribunal exhibited apprehended bias. The Full Court considered whether the Tribunal's decision involved jurisdictional or procedural error. The Court found that the Tribunal had complied with its obligations under s 424A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) by providing SZLJC with particulars of the information relevant to its decision. The Court also found that the Tribunal's decision was within its fact-finding jurisdiction and did not exhibit apprehended bias. The Court agreed with the Federal Magistrate that the Tribunal's findings were open to it to make and that SZLJC's allegations of error amounted to an impermissible attempt at merits review.

The appeal was dismissed and the decision of the Tribunal was affirmed. The Full Court found no error on the part of the Tribunal in its assessment of SZLJC's credibility or in its handling of the review proceedings. The Court held that the Tribunal's findings were open to it to make and that SZLJC's claims of error amounted to an impermissible attempt at merits review.