Djokovic Wins Court Case, Prepares to Play Australian Open

Novak Djokovic had his Australian visa returned on Monday, allowing him to stay in the country.

The Federal Court in Melbourne heard his appeal against the cancellation and ordered the border guards to overturn the decision, release the Serb and return all his personal belongings. In addition, the Australian Department of Home Affairs must pay all his legal costs.

This happened because of the violations committed by border guards when they worked with Djokovic at Melbourne Airport. They were voiced during the hearing, Judge Anthony Kelly made several remarks in support of their seriousness, and in the end the Department of Home Affairs agreed with the claims. In essence, they decided not to fight.

The court eventually made a decision, the central episode of which was that Djokovic was promised time until 08:30 Melbourne time to contact Tennis Australia and his team and provide all the necessary documents. But then the border guards violated this deadline and at around 07:40 notified him about the cancellation of the visa.

An important point: the court overturned the visa cancellation not because it found Djokovic’s medical exemption justified, but because of procedural violations. The question of whether the Serb had the right to enter Australia without a Covid vaccination remains open.

And the court victory is not final. At the end of the hearing, the Interior Ministry lawyer immediately warned: now the Ministry of Immigration has the right to cancel Djokovic’s visa. And if it does so, the Serb faces a ban on entry to Australia for up to three years.

So far, the Minister of Immigration has not made a decision. But the situation is quite alarming for Novak – Australian immigration law experts say that the minister does not need any grounds to cancel a visa in principle. Such are the laws in Australia.

In addition, an unpleasant detail for Djokovic’s reputation emerged in the court documents. He was diagnosed with coronavirus on December 16, and participated in events on the 17th and 18th, although he already knew about the diagnosis and should have been isolated.

The saga continues.