SZUNV v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2017] FCA 877

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

SZUNV v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2017] FCA 877 Appeal from: Application for extension of time: SZUNV v Minister for Immigration & Anor [2016] FCCA 54

File number(s): NSD 646 of 2017

Judge(s): SIOPIS J

Date of judgment: 3 August 2017

Date of hearing: 1 August 2017

Registry: New South Wales

Division: General Division

National Practice Area: Administrative and Constitutional Law and Human Rights

Category: No Catchwords

Number of paragraphs: 43

Counsel for the Applicant: The Applicant appeared in person.

Counsel for the First Respondent: Mr MJ Smith

Solicitor for the First Respondent: Australian Government Solicitor

ORDERS NSD 646 of 2017

BETWEEN: SZUNV Applicant

AND: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION First Respondent

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL Second Respondent

JUDGE: SIOPIS J DATE OF ORDER: 3 AUGUST 2017

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1. The application for an extension of time filed on 3 May 2017 is dismissed. 2. The applicant is to pay the first respondent's costs. Note: Entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

SIOPIS J: 1 This is an application which has been treated as an extension of time in which to seek leave to appeal from an interlocutory decision of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia made on 4 February 2016, declining to reinstate the applicant's judicial review proceeding. 2 The applicant is a 28 year old Tamil male and a citizen of Sri Lanka, from the north of the country. 3 The applicant arrived in Australia in July 2012 as an unauthorised maritime arrival and in December 2012 the applicant made an application for a protection visa. In support of the application, the applicant claimed to fear persecution from the Sri Lankan authorities by reason of his Tamil ethnicity and imputed political opinion as a person associated with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE). 4 On 5 July 2013, a delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (the Minister) refused to grant the visa sought and on 27 May 2014 the Refugee Review Tribunal (now the Administrative Appeals Tribunal) (the Tribunal) affirmed the decision of the delegate. 5 On 23 June 2014, the applicant applied for judicial review of the Tribunal's decision. On 12 March 2015, the Federal Circuit Court dismissed the applicant's application pursuant to r 13.03C(1)(c) of the Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001 (Cth) on the basis that the applicant did not attend the hearing. 6 The applicant sought to appeal the orders made on 12 March 2015 to this Court; that application was misconceived and was dismissed on 21 August 2015. 7 The applicant then applied, pursuant to r 16.05 of the Federal Circuit Court Rules, to the Federal Circuit Court to set aside the orders made on 12 March 2015 and to reinstate the applicant's application because they were orders made in his absence. On 4 February 2016, the Federal Circuit Court refused that application on the basis that the application did not have a reasonable prospect of success and so there would be no utility in reinstating the original judicial review application. 8 It is from that decision that the applicant now seeks an extension of time to make an application for leave to appeal to this Court.