SZBEL v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2006] HCA 63

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

GLEESON CJ

KIRBY, HAYNE, CALLINAN AND HEYDON JJ

SZBEL APPELLANT

AND

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND

MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS

AFFAIRS & ANOR RESPONDENTS

SZBEL v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs

[2006] HCA 63

15 December 2006

S274/2006

ORDER

1. Appeal allowed with costs. 2. Set aside the orders of the Federal Court of Australia made on 9 February 2006 and, in their place, order:

(a) appeal allowed with costs; and

(b) set aside the orders of the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia made on 23 February 2005 and, in their place, order:

(i) a writ of certiorari issue, directed to the second respondent, to quash the decision of the second respondent made on 27 June 2003; and

(ii) a writ of mandamus issue, directed to the second respondent, requiring the second respondent to determine according to law the application made on 5 June 2001 by the appellant for review of the decision of the delegate of the first respondent to refuse to grant the appellant a protection visa.

On appeal from the Federal Court of Australia

Representation

N J Williams SC with R S Francois for the appellant (instructed by Legal Aid Commission of New South Wales)

S J Gageler SC with S B Lloyd for the first respondent (instructed by Clayton Utz)

Submitting appearance for the second respondent

Notice: This copy of the Court's Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.

CATCHWORDS

SZBEL v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs

Immigration – Refugees – Protection visa decision – Procedural fairness – Appellant claimed he feared persecution on basis of his conversion to Christianity if returned to Iran – Delegate of the first respondent refused to grant appellant protection visa because not satisfied of the genuineness of appellant's conversion to Christianity – Review by Refugee Review Tribunal – Appellant invited by Tribunal to give evidence relating to the issues arising in relation to the decision under review – Appellant gave evidence addressed to the delegate's concern regarding the genuineness of his conversion to Christianity – Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant a protection visa on the basis that appellant's claims were not credible – Whether Tribunal failed to notify the appellant adequately of the issues to which its reasoning processes were directed – Whether failure of Tribunal to ask the appellant to address issues that it considered might be important amounted to a denial of procedural fairness.