Manvelishvili v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2000] FCA 1780

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Manvelishvili v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs [2000] FCA 1780

ZURAB MANVELISHVILI v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS N 1056 of 2000

STONE J 7 DECEMBER 2000 SYDNEY

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY N 1056 OF 2000

BETWEEN: ZURAB MANVELISHVILI

APPLICANT

AND: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND

MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

RESPONDENT

JUDGE: STONE J

DATE OF ORDER: 7 DECEMBER 2000

WHERE MADE: SYDNEY

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1. the application be dismissed; and

2. the applicant pay the respondent's costs Note: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of the Federal Court Rules.

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY N 1056 OF 2000

BETWEEN: ZURAB MANVELISHVILI

APPLICANT

AND: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

RESPONDENT

JUDGE: STONE J

DATE: 7 DECEMBER 2000

PLACE: SYDNEY

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

introduction 1 This is an application for a review of the decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal ("Tribunal") upholding a decision of the delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs ("the Minister") to refuse the grant of a protection visa. The application is made under s 476 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) ("the Act"). 2 Under s 36 of the Act, the criterion for the grant of a protection visa is that the applicant is a non-citizen in Australia to whom Australia has protection obligations under the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28 July 1951, as "amended" by the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees done at New York on 31 January 1967 (compendiously, "the Convention"). As a party to the Convention, Australia has undertaken protection obligations to a person who is a "refugee" as defined in the Convention. 3 Article 1A(2) of the Convention provides that a refugee is any person who: "owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it." 4 It is necessary that, at the time of the decision on the application for a protection visa, the Minister is satisfied that the applicant is a person to whom Australia has protection obligations under the Convention; see cl 866.221 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth).