SZRTX v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, SZRTX, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration to refuse to grant a protection visa. The dispute concerned whether the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution for a reason specified in the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The matter came before Emmett J of the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) had erred in law in its assessment of the applicant's claims. Specifically, the Court was required to determine if the RRT had failed to adequately consider all relevant evidence, including the applicant's subjective fear and the objective country information, when assessing the likelihood of persecution. The Court also considered whether the RRT had applied the correct legal test for establishing a well-founded fear.

Emmett J found that the RRT had failed to properly consider the cumulative effect of the evidence presented by the applicant. The Tribunal had, in his Honour's view, treated certain pieces of evidence in isolation, rather than assessing their combined weight in establishing a well-founded fear of persecution. The Court reiterated the principle that a subjective fear, if genuinely held and if there are reasonable grounds for it, can be sufficient to establish a well-founded fear, even if the objective likelihood of persecution is not high. The Court concluded that the RRT's decision was affected by an error of law.

The Court ordered that the decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal be set aside and remitted to the Tribunal for redetermination according to law.