CAN A CHILD BE A REFUGEE?
40 The second matter concerns whether a child of three months can be a refugee. A broadly similar situation arose in Chen Shi Hai (an infant) by his next friend Chen Ren Bing v The Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (Federal Court of Australia, French J, 5 June 1998, unreported). In that matter a child born on 11 July 1996 had made an application (lodged by his father) on 20 February 1997 for a protection visa. French J said:
"I should add that a contention was advanced for the respondent that the applicant would not qualify for refugee status because being a young child it lacked the awareness to have a well founded fear of persecution. In my opinion that very literal construction of the words of the Convention should be rejected. Although a well founded fear in a subjective sense is necessary, it can, in the case of a child, in my opinion, be derived from the fear held for the child by his or her parents. To conclude otherwise is to exclude from the protection of the Convention those who might in some cases be most in need of its protection including young children and the intellectually disabled."
41 On appeal, the members of the Full Court were divided on this question. O'Loughlin and Carr JJ said:
"There remains one further matter which, in our opinion, proffers some support for the view that we have taken. The appellant is a child who, because of his tender years, would have no knowledge of, or comprehension of 'the one child policy'. This did not stop the learned judge in the Court below from holding that such a person could have the necessary subjective fear by virtue of the subjective fear of one or other of his parents. This is a very obvious attitude to adopt; to limit oneself to the fears of the individual child would otherwise deny children of tenders years the benefits of the Convention: see the remarks of Guy S Goodwin-Gill in his work 'The Refugee in International Law' 2nd Ed p 357:
'If the head of the family is recognised as a refugee then, all things being equal, the dependants are normally granted refugee status according to the principle of family unity: UNHCR, Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status (1978) paras 181.8, 184'
However, in this particular case, both parents sought, but were refused, refugee status. Hence, it must follow as a matter of logic, that if the parents cannot claim refugee status, then their child (who, in this particular case, is dependent upon their fears for his status) cannot succeed in a claim for refugee status."
However Nicholson J, who dissented on this and other issues, said on this question:
"French J held that in the case of a child a well-founded fear could be derived from the fear held for the child by his or her parents. The appellant does not challenge that conclusion. That approach is consistent with par 185 of the UNHCR Handbook on Procedures, Ch V1. See Goodwin-Gill, The Refugee and International Law (Clarendon 2nd ed 1996) at 356-358."
42 The matter was ultimately heard by the High Court: see Chen Shi Hai v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (2000) 74 ALJ 775. It is apparent that there was then no issue about the question of the child holding a subjective fear. In the joint judgment of Gleeson CJ, Gaudron, Gummow and Hayne JJ , their Honours said:
"No point has been taken that, by reason of his age and circumstances, the appellant, himself, lacks the fear necessary to bring him within the Convention definition of 'refugee'. Rather, it is accepted that his parents' fears on his behalf are sufficient.
43 Nonetheless this question was addressed by Kirby J at pp 789 and 790. His Honour made it plain that, in his view, a child such as the applicant in that matter could be a refugee. His Honour does not expressly address the question of how one goes about dealing with the subjective element of the "well-founded fear of persecution" though observations in par 77 suggest that the subjective fear of the parents is to be imputed to the child. This was a question that appears to have troubled the primary judge in the matter we are presently dealing with in this appeal. It probably has to be treated as an open question that may have to be determined on some future occasion. However, it must be acknowledged that in Chen Shi Hai v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs the High Court set aside the orders of the Full Court of this Court and, in lieu, ordered that the appeal to the Full Court be dismissed. These orders reinstated the order of French J remitting the matter to the Tribunal to be dealt with on the basis that the applicant was entitled to refugee status.