Federal Court (Full Court). Can it be said, based on a single judge FCA decision, that the "principles of legal unreasonableness, in the sense considered in Li, have no application in the review of a decision... as to the existence of certain facts that satisfy statutory criteria", but only to the review of a discretionary power? Summary of principles concerning review of: state of satisfaction under s 65 for illogicality and irrationality; adverse credibility findings. Can it be said that "the psychological reactions of a couple to their first sexual encounter are matters of common human experience"? Or do those reactions need to be supported by evidence such as psychological evidence? Can it be said that, "if two people give a different account of an event and the evidence of one is rejected, that does not provide a logical basis on which to reject the evidence of the other"?
The questions to the Full Court of the Federal Court (FCAFC) were as follows:
Question 1: Can it be said, based on a single judge FCA decision, that the "principles of legal unreasonableness, in the sense considered in Li, have no application in the review of a decision... as to the existence of certain facts that satisfy statutory criteria", but only to the review of a discretionary power?
Question 2: What are the principles concerning review of a state of satisfaction under s 65 for illogicality and irrationality?
Question 3: What are the principles applicable to the review of adverse credibility findings?
Question 4: Can it be said that "the psychological reactions of a couple to their first sexual encounter are matters of common human experience"? In other words, can it be said that "their first sexual encounter could not be established without other evidence, perhaps psychological evidence"?
Question 5: Can it be said that, "if two people give a different account of an event and the evidence of one is rejected, that does not provide a logical basis on which to reject the evidence of the other"?
The FCAFC answered those questions as follows: