SZRMS v Minister for Immigration - [2013] FMCA 161

FEDERAL MAGISTRATES COURT OF AUSTRALIA

SZRMS v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & ANOR

[2013] FMCA 161

MIGRATION – Application to review decision of Refugee Review Tribunal – no jurisdictional error.

Migration Act 1958 (Cth), ss.424A, 425

Commissioner for Australian Capital Territory Revenue v Alphaone Pty Ltd (1994) 49 FCR 576; [1994] FCA 1074

Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v SZMDS and Another (2010) 240 CLR 611; [2010] HCA 16
Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs v Jia Legeng (2001) 205 CLR 507; [2001] HCA 17

Re Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Ex parteDurairajasingham (2000) 74 ALJR 405; [2000] HCA 1

Re Refugee Review Tribunal; Ex parte H (2001) 75 ALJR 982; [2001] HCA 28
SZBEL v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs and Another (2006) 228 CLR 152; [2006] HCA 63
SZBYR v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (2007) 81 ALJR 1190; [2007] HCA 26

Applicant:

SZRMS

First Respondent:

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & CITIZENSHIP

Second Respondent:

REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL

File Number:

SYG 1124 of 2012

Judgment of:

Barnes FM

Hearing date:

8 February 2013

Delivered at:

Sydney

Delivered on:

8 February 2013

REPRESENTATION

Applicant:

In person

Solicitors for the Respondents:

Minter Ellison

ORDERS

The application is dismissed.
The applicant pay the costs of the first respondent fixed in the sum of $4,500.

FEDERAL MAGISTRATES
COURT OF AUSTRALIA
AT SYDNEY

SYG 1124 of 2012

SZRMS

Applicant

And

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & CITIZENSHIP

First Respondent

REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL

Second Respondent

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

(Revised from transcript)

This is an application for review of a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal dated 26 April 2012. The Tribunal affirmed the decision of a delegate of the First Respondent not to grant the Applicant a protection visa. The Applicant is a citizen of Pakistan who arrived in Australia in March 2011. He applied for protection in May 2011. In connection with his protection visa application he provided a written statement in which he claimed to be a businessman involved in the leather business and a member of the MQM (the Muttahida Qaumi Movement).
The Applicant claimed he was targeted by members of the PPP (the Pakistan People’s Party) because he “was working against them and doing well in local business community” and that he was “forced to pay monthly donation to local PPP members”. He complained, but did not receive support from the MQM. He claimed that to avoid threats he had found it necessary to pay 20,000 rupees and to seek additional time to pay. He realised he could not expect protection from any law enforcement authority and decided to leave Pakistan.
After his application was refused the Applicant sought review by the Tribunal. He attended a Tribunal hearing on 11 April 2012. The only evidence before the Court as to what occurred in the Tribunal hearing is the Tribunal’s account of the hearing in its reasons for decision.
In its reasons for decision, after setting out the evidence…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2013] FMCA 161
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Federal Magistrates Court of Australia dealt with an application for review of a decision by the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) to affirm the decision of a delegate of the Minister for Immigration not to grant a protection visa to the applicant, SZRMS. The applicant, a Pakistani national, claimed he faced persecution in Pakistan due to his involvement with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and his refusal to pay extortion money to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The RRT rejected the applicant's claims based on inconsistencies in his evidence and his lack of credibility.

The court examined the grounds of review raised by the applicant, including allegations of procedural unfairness and jurisdictional error. The court found that the RRT's decision was based on the inconsistencies in the applicant's claims and the Tribunal's assessment of his credibility, which was permissible under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The court held that the RRT properly exercised its discretion and there was no failure to comply with procedural fairness obligations. The applicant's claims about his medical condition and confusion during the hearing were not substantiated, and did not undermine the RRT's decision.

The court also dismissed the applicant's contention that the RRT had no jurisdiction to make the decision, as the Tribunal's findings were based on the material before it and the applicant's lack of credibility. The applicant's assertion that he satisfied the elements of the Convention definition of a refugee was rejected, as it did not establish a jurisdictional error or a failure to consider his claims. The court concluded that there was no jurisdictional error and the application for review was dismissed.

Accordingly, the court ordered that the applicant pay the costs of the first respondent in the sum of $4,500, considering the straightforward nature of the case and the applicant's inability to pay. The decision affirmed the RRT's findings and the delegate's decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.

Orders