Wimalaweera v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs
[1999] FCA 1823
At a glance
Source factsCourt
Federal Court of Australia
Decision date
1999-12-23
Before
Gyles J
Source
Original judgment source is linked above.
Judgment (13 paragraphs)
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT 1 The applicant is a Singhalese Sri Lankan national who was born on 4 June 1967. He arrived in Australia on 4 January 1996, pursuant to a visitor's visa. On 8 July 1997 he applied for a protection visa. This application was refused by a delegate of the respondent on 26 March 1998. On 16 April 1998 the applicant sought review of that decision by the Refugee Review Tribunal ("the Tribunal"). On 31 May 1999 the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant a protection visa, not being satisfied that the applicant was a person to whom Australia had protection obligations and therefore not satisfying the criterion set out in s 36(2) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) ("the Act"). 2 On 28 June 1999 the applicant filed an application for an order of review. The grounds of the application were: "1. The Decision involved an error of law being either an incorrect interpretation of the applicable law and/or an incorrect application of the law to the facts as found by the Refugee Review Tribunal. Particulars The RRT either misinterpreted the definition of a refugee insofar as it only requires well founded fear of persecution and/or misapplied the definition to the facts as found by it and/or failed to act according to substantial justice and the merits of the case in deciding that: The RRT erred in applying the law to the facts as found in that it failed to consider whether the applicant had a well founded fear of persecution. 2. Procedures required by the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) to be observed in connection with the making of the decision were not observed. Particulars The RRT did not act according to "substantial justice and the merits of the case" in that it failed to properly consider the evidence in relation to the Applicant's claims and to clarify any apparent inconsistencies in those claims by questioning him at the RRT hearing." 3 When the matter came on for hearing on 22 November 1999, the applicant sought leave to amend the application by, effectively, substituting an application with new grounds. The Minister consented to the application and the amendment was made. The grounds of the application now are: "1. Procedures that were required by the Migration Act 1958 to be observed in connection with the making of the Tribunal decision were not observed (s 476(1)(a)). (a) breach of the obligation to provide reasons under s 430 of the Migration Act. Particulars (i) the Tribunal failed to make findings on material questions of fact being the claims of the applicant that (A) His brother was a Naval Commander. As part of his duties he interrogated LTTE suspects at the Naval bases of Silawatura and Talaimannar, he was later the Captain of a Navy vessel destroyed by the LTTE (the brother was killed) and the LTTE have targetted his family for annihalation/extermination. (B) That the applicant's father was a prominent member of the MEP and he publicly advocated the settling of Sinhala families in Jaffna. The father had also published a book denouncing the LTTE. The father also foiled an LTTE plot to bomb the parliament in Colombo. (C) That the LTTE had made a general threat against the supporters of the MEP. (D) That the police had twice (6 November 1997 and March 1998) attended their home with warrants for his arrest on charges of "rioting against the Government" under the "Prevention of Terrorism Act". (ii) The Tribunal failed to set out the evidence in support of its finding that the Sri Lankan Government could protect the applicant against attacks by the LTTE. (iii) The following reasoning of the RRT which was critical to its decision that Australia did not have protection obligations to the applicant was illogical: (A) that the Sri Lankan Government could protect the applicant against attacks by the LTTE. (B) that the applicant's claim of mistreatment should not be believed because the mistreatment which the applicant claimed to have suffered from the police was not warranted by his political activities. 2. The decision was not authorised by the Act [s 476(1)(c)]. PARTICULARS (a) in basing its finding that the applicant was not a person to whom Australia had protection obligations on illogical reasoning the RRT failed to properly form an opinion of satisfaction as required by the Act. (b) in not making findings on the material questions of fact set out in ground 1 above, the RRT did not consider the real question which it was its duty to consider. 3. The decision involved an error of law, being an error involving an incorrect interpretation of the applicable law or an incorrect application of the law to the facts as found by the Tribunal. [s 476(1)(e)]. Particulars (a) in not making findings on the material questions of fact set out in ground 1 above, the RRT erred in failing to make the findings required by the relevant law. 4. The decision was based on a fact and there is no evidence that that fact existed s 476(1)(g). Particulars The RRT relied on the fact that the applicant's application for a visa to Australia was supported by a letter written by his brother before a rally held by the applicant in Kandy whereas the letter was written after that rally."