Editors --- "Sook Rye Son v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs - Case Note" [1999] AdminRw 25; (1999) 51 Admin Review 54

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Sook Rye Son v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs

Federal Court, Full Court, 23 March 1999

[1999] FCA 7

RRT having regard to the views of an interpreter in proceedings—requirement of acting according to substantial justice

The appellant had arrived in Australia on a South Korean passport. She later applied for a protection visa on the ground that she was a citizen of North Korea, and as such feared persecution. The application was refused, and the appellant applied to the Refugee Review Tribunal ('RRT') for review.

The RRT upheld the original decision, on the basis that it was not convinced that the appellant was a citizen of North Korea. In coming to this conclusion, the RRT relied on comments made by the appellant's interpreter as to the dialect used by the appellant. The appellant sought judicial review of the decision in the Federal Court.

The Federal Court decided that the use of the interpreter as a witness constituted a breach of the Migration Act 1958 requirement that the RRT 'act according to substantial justice'.