SZMQO v Minister for Immigration & Anor
[2008] FMCA 1449
•13 October 2008
FEDERAL MAGISTRATES COURT OF AUSTRALIA
| SZMQO v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & ANOR | [2008] FMCA 1449 |
| MIGRATION – Visa – protection visa – Refugee Review Tribunal – non appearance of applicant at hearing. |
| Federal Magistrates Court of Australia Rules 2001, r.13.03A(c) |
| Applicant: | SZMQO |
| First Respondent: | MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & CITIZENSHIP |
| Second Respondent: | REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL |
| File Number: | SYG 2127 of 2008 |
| Judgment of: | Scarlett FM |
| Hearing date: | 13 October 2008 |
| Date of Last Submission: | 13 October 2008 |
| Delivered at: | Sydney |
| Delivered on: | 13 October 2008 |
REPRESENTATION
| The Applicant: | No Appearance |
| Solicitors for the Respondents: | Sparke Helmore |
ORDERS
The Application is dismissed under rule 13.03A(c) of the Federal Magistrates Court Rules due to the non-appearance of the applicant at the hearing.
The applicant is to pay the First Respondent’s costs fixed in the sum of $3000.00.
| FEDERAL MAGISTRATES COURT OF AUSTRALIA AT SYDNEY |
SYG 2127 of 2008
| SZMQO |
Applicant
And
| MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & CITIZENSHIP |
First Respondent
| REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL |
Second Respondent
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
(Revised from transcript)
The applicant in this proceedings, if she were here, would be seeking a review of a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal that was handed down on 22 July 2008. Unfortunately the applicant is not here.
The applicant filed her application at this Court on 18 August 2008 and on the first Court date, which was 1 September; she duly appeared and had the assistance of an interpreter in the Mandarin language. She discussed with a solicitor appearing for the Minister some directions to be made by consent and the application was listed for final hearing at 2.15 pm today.
The applicant did not appear. Mr Snell, who appears for the Minister, tendered a copy of a letter to the applicant dated 26 September 2008 enclosing a copy of the first respondent's submissions. The letter went on to remind the applicant that the matter is listed for hearing today at 2.15 pm. The letter set out the name of the federal magistrate hearing the case and the address of the Court. The letter went on to say:
If you do not attend on this occasion the respondent will seek orders from the Court that your matter be dismissed and that you pay the Minister's legal costs of the proceedings.
I note that the applicant has not filed any amended application although given the opportunity to do so, nor has she filed any written outline of submissions. She did not enter Court when the matter was called at 2.15 pm so I stood the matter down in order to ascertain whether the applicant had been somehow delayed or hindered or prevented from attending Court due to illness or injury or some transport delay or some other emergency. No message has been received from the applicant or from anyone on her behalf. The matter was called again at 2.40 pm. The applicant did not answer the call. It is now 2.45 pm, exactly half an hour after the scheduled hearing time. In my view it is clear that the applicant is not going to attend Court.
There is an application made by Mr Snell on behalf of the Minister for the application to be dismissed under the provisions of r.1303A(c) due to the non-attendance of the applicant. I propose to accede to that application. There is also an application for costs in the sum of $3000. That seems to me to be an appropriate order. Accordingly I make the following orders.
I certify that the preceding five (5) paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for judgment of Scarlett FM
Associate: A. Coutman
Date: 21 October 2008
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