SZOTJ v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship

[2011] HCASL 178

SZOTJ
v
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP & ANOR
[2011] HCASL 178
S287/2011

1. The applicant is a citizen of the People's Republic of China.  A delegate of the first respondent refused his application for a protection visa.  The second respondent ("the Tribunal") upheld that decision.  The applicant claimed to fear persecution by reason of being a practitioner of Falun Gong.  He claimed to have been arrested and mistreated for that reason.  The Tribunal found that the applicant's claims lacked detail, and that the applicant did not have the level of knowledge of Falun Gong which would be consistent with the level of involvement in that practice which he claimed.

2. The Federal Magistrates Court (Barnes FM) dismissed an application for review.  She found no jurisdictional error in the Tribunal's decision.

3. The applicant appealed to the Federal Court of Australia (Siopis J). The applicant failed to appear. The appeal was dismissed pursuant to s 25(2B)(bb)(ii) of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) and r 36.75 of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth). Siopis J found that none of the complaints made by the applicant suggested any jurisdictional error.

4. In the draft Notice of Appeal which the applicant filed with the other papers in support of his application for special leave to appeal, he lists two grounds of appeal – a failure by the Tribunal to give procedural fairness and an application by the Tribunal of the wrong test.  There is no amplification of these general grounds and no reason to suppose that if special leave were granted the appeal would have any prospects of success. 

5. The application is dismissed.

6. Pursuant to r 41.10.5 we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing the application.

J.D. Heydon
26 October 2011 V.M. Bell