SZLJW v Minister for Immigration & Citizenship [2008] FCA 1230

Procedural Posture

Migration Appeal Concerning Refusal of Protection Visas / Appeal From the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia Dismissing an Application for Judicial Review of a Refugee Review Tribunal Decision

Legal Issues

1. 1 ['Whether the Federal Magistrates Court erred in dismissing the application for judicial review of the Tribunal decision.' 'Whether the Tribunal wrongly applied the law concerning the seriousness of harm constituting persecution under s 91R of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).' 'Whether the Tribunal failed to give the appellants an adequate opportunity to respond or breached s 424A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).' 'Whether the Tribunal erred by failing to apply relocation principles or by denying procedural fairness or natural justice.' 'Whether the Tribunal took an unidentified irrelevant matter into account, resulting in jurisdictional error.']

Ratio Decidendi

No error was identified in the approach or findings of the Federal Magistrate and no jurisdictional error by the Tribunal was apparent. The Tribunal had complied with the statutory hearing invitation requirements, was entitled to decide the review on the papers after the appellants did not attend, and was not required to make further inquiries where the appellants' vague and general evidence did not satisfy it that they had a well-founded fear of persecution for a Convention reason. The alleged s 424A, relocation, procedural fairness and irrelevant-consideration grounds were either unsupported, misconceived or unidentified.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed with costs.

Orders

• ['The appeal be dismissed.' "The appellants pay the first respondent's costs."]