MZXTZ v Minister for Immigration & Citizenship [2009] FCA 888

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

MZXTZ v Minister for Immigration & Citizenship [2009] FCA 888 MIGRATION – visa – protection visa – whether Refugee Review Tribunal obliged to exercise powers to seek additional evidence – assertion that Malaysian identity card contained information as to appellant's religion, embedded in chip – whether Tribunal should have taken steps to access this information – whether Tribunal required to obtain medical opinion that scars borne by appellant were caused by torture MIGRATION – visa – protection visa – appellant gave Tribunal further document shortly before decision handed down – Tribunal proceeded to hand down decision without considering document – Tribunal required to consider document – whether relief should be refused because Tribunal member subsequently looked at document and stated that there was no need to alter decision MIGRATION – visa – protection visa – whether Tribunal failed to deal with actual claim made by appellant – Tribunal characterised claim as one of forcible conversion to Islam – claim was that appellant persuaded by benevolent employer to sign document signifying conversion when he was 14 years old and illiterate, and that authorities thereafter forced him to continue to be a Muslim Migration Act 1958 (Cth), ss 5(1), 36, 91R, 424A, 425, 427(1)(d), 430A Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth), s 33(2A) Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28 July 1951 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees done at New York on 31 January 1967 MZXTZ v Minister for Immigration & Anor [2008] FMCA 1716 reversed Minister for Immigration & Citizenship v Le [2007] FCA 1318 (2007) 164 FCR 151 applied Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs v Bhardwaj [2002] HCA 11 (2002) 209 CLR 597 cited X v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs [2002] FCA 56 (2002) 116 FCR 319 cited