SZEZG v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship

1. The application for leave to appeal be dismissed.
2. The applicant pay the Minister's costs fixed in the sum of $1000. Note: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of the Federal Court Rules.

ON APPEAL FROM THE FEDERAL MAGISTRATES COURT OF AUSTRALIA

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT 1 This is an application for leave to appeal from a judgment of the Federal Magistrate of 7 August 2007, dismissing an application under rule 44 of the Federal Magistrates Court Rules 2001 (Cth), as disclosing no arguable case (SZEZG v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship & Anor [2007] FMCA 1403). The application before the Federal Magistrate was an application for judicial review of a decision of the Tribunal handed down on 26 June 2007 and sent on 28 June 2007. The Refugee Review Tribunal concluded that it had no jurisdiction to entertain an application for review of a decision of the delegate of the Minister, refusing to grant the applicant a protection visa. 2 The decisions of both the Federal Magistrate and the Tribunal were preceded by litigation in the Tribunal (N0448642), this Court (SZEZG v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2005] FCA 184 and SZEZG v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2006] FCA 866), the Federal Magistrates Court (SZEZG v Minister for Immigration [2004] FMCA 812 and SZEZG v Minister for Immigration & Anor [2006] FMCA 676) and the High Court (SZEZG v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2005] HCATrans 715 and SZEZG v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2007] HCATrans 230) seeking to challenge the underlying decision to refuse to grant the applicant a protection visa. The Federal Magistrate, in my view, was correct in concluding that there was no arguable case that the Tribunal erred in reaching the conclusion it did by its decision of 26 June 2007, that it had no jurisdiction. 3 Accordingly, any appeal is doomed to fail and the application for leave to appeal should be dismissed with costs. I order that those costs be fixed in the sum of $1000. I certify that the preceding three (3) numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Judgment herein of the Honourable Justice Moore.