VLAR v MIMIA [2006] HCATrans 229 (10 May 2006)

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VLAR v MIMIA [2006] HCATrans 229 (10 May 2006)

Last Updated: 19 May 2006

[2006] HCATrans 229

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Office of the Registry
Melbourne No M165 of 2005

B e t w e e n -

VLAR

Applicant

and

THE MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Respondent

Application for special leave to appeal

Publication of reasons and pronouncement of orders

GUMMOW J
HEYDON J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT CANBERRA ON WEDNESDAY, 10 MAY 2006, AT 9.39 AM

Copyright in the High Court of Australia

GUMMOW J: The applicant is a citizen of Vietnam who claims to fear political persecution. His claim for a protection visa was rejected by the Refugee Review Tribunal. The Tribunal accepted that the applicant might have had past difficulties with the Vietnamese Communist government due to his family’s history of political opposition. However the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not face a real chance of persecution on his return to Vietnam, because any discrimination he had faced in the past was not systematic; he did not have a sufficiently high political profile in Vietnam; and independent country information indicated that minor dissident activity is unlikely to have serious consequences for those returning to Vietnam.

The Federal Magistrates Court dismissed the applicant’s application for judicial review as demonstrating no jurisdictional error in the Tribunal’s decision. An appeal to the Federal Court was dismissed by North J. Both the Federal Magistrate and North J held that the Tribunal had not misconstrued s 91R of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) nor fallen into jurisdictional error when applying that section.

The applicant’s written case relies solely on vague assertions that errors of that nature had been made. However, there is no reason to doubt the correctness of the decisions of the Federal Magistrate and of North J. There would be no prospect of success on any appeal to this Court from the Federal Court. Special leave is refused.

Pursuant to r 41.10.5 we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing the application for special leave. I publish the disposition signed by Heydon J and myself.

AT 9.41 AM THE MATTER WAS CONCLUDED