Jayasinghe, Shantha Karunaratna v Minister for Immigration & Ethnic Affairs & Anor [1997] FCA 551

Jayasinghe, Shantha Karunaratna v Minister for Immigration & Ethnic Affairs & Anor [1997] FCA 551

The Tribunal's 5 August 1996 statement that it had no power to reconsider the applicant's case was not a judicially-reviewable decision under s 475(1)(b), because Pt 8 review is confined to Tribunal decisions resolving the substantive application and not to a refusal to reconsider a final decision. In any event, the Migration Act 1958 contains no express or implied power for the Refugee Review Tribunal to re-open or reconsider its final decision on a review after it has made and communicated that decision under s 430; the statutory scheme, including mechanisms for further applications in ss 50 and 416 and the objectives in s 420, militated against implying such a power. The Tribunal was...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
25 June 1997
Procedural Posture
Application for an Order of Review Under Pt 8 of the Migration Act 1958 / Final Hearing of Respondents' Motion to Dismiss the Amended Application Under O 20 R 1 of the Federal Court Rules, Treated as the Final Hearing of the Application
Outcome
The amended application was dismissed.
Legal Topics
['refugee Review Tribunal Powers' 'functus Officio' 'judicially Reviewable Decisions' 'reconsideration or Re Opening of Tribunal Decisions' 'protection Visa Review']
['migration Law' 'administrative Law' 'judicial Review'] ['refugee Review Tribunal Powers' 'functus Officio' 'judicially Reviewable Decisions' 'reconsideration or Re Opening of Tribunal Decisions' 'protection Visa Review']

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Procedural Posture

Application for an Order of Review Under Pt 8 of the Migration Act 1958 / Final Hearing of Respondents' Motion to Dismiss the Amended Application Under O 20 R 1 of the Federal Court Rules, Treated as the Final Hearing of the Application

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the Refugee Review Tribunal had power to re-open or reconsider its substantive decision after making and publishing its decision on a review.' "Whether the Tribunal's refusal on 5 August 1996 to reconsider the applicant's case was a judicially-reviewable decision under s 475(1)(b) of the Migration Act 1958." 'Whether the doctrine of functus officio was merely a legal technicality displaced by s 420 of the Migration Act 1958.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal's 5 August 1996 statement that it had no power to reconsider the applicant's case was not a judicially-reviewable decision under s 475(1)(b), because Pt 8 review is confined to Tribunal decisions resolving the substantive application and not to a refusal to reconsider a final decision. In any event, the Migration Act 1958 contains no express or implied power for the Refugee Review Tribunal to re-open or reconsider its final decision on a review after it has made and communicated that decision under s 430; the statutory scheme, including mechanisms for further applications in ss 50 and 416 and the objectives in s 420, militated against implying such a power. The Tribunal was...

Court Disposition

The amended application was dismissed.

Orders

  • ['The amended application be dismissed.' 'The applicant pay the respondents their costs of the proceeding including reserved costs.']