SZVGE v Minister for Immigration

In the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, Judge Smith considered the dispute between SZVGE (the applicant) and the Minister for Immigration (the respondent) concerning the applicant's claim to Lebanese nationality. The core of the disagreement lay in the interpretation and application of Lebanese law, specifically the Lebanese Nationality Act.

The court was required to determine the correct interpretation of Article 1 of the Lebanese Nationality Act No. 15 of 19/1/1925, particularly in relation to the circumstances under which a person is considered a Lebanese national by reason of birth in Lebanon. This involved resolving conflicting expert evidence presented by both parties regarding the conditions for acquiring Lebanese nationality.

Judge Smith applied the provisions of the *Evidence Act 1995* (Cth), specifically sections 174 and 175, which govern the adducing of evidence of foreign law. The court accepted that both qualified experts, Raymond Jamhoury for the applicant and Rabih Fakhry for the respondent, were competent to provide expert evidence on Lebanese law. The judge then proceeded to analyse the experts' opinions on the four identical questions posed, ultimately resolving the differences in their evidence. The court noted the agreement between the experts that a person whose father is a Lebanese national is also a Lebanese national, and then considered Mr Fakhry's specific answer regarding birth in Lebanon.