Abstract:
On 11 October 2002 the High Court granted leave to appeal from a decision of the
Full Federal Court, Kabir v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs
(MIMA) (hereinafter Kabir). The case concerns a gay couple from Bangladesh
seeking asylum. This marks the first time that a final appellate court anywhere in
the world will consider a refugee claim based on the ground of sexual orientation.
Refugee decision-makers around the world fo11ow each others rulings closely and
the High Court of Australia has played an important role in developing
intemational refugee jurisprudence to date. The outcome of this case has the
potential to influence decision-making in all refugee-receiving states.
