Read the full judgment text of CACV 272/2017 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 26 March 2018 before Hon Lam VP and Chu JA.
Administrative law – judicial review – non-refoulement claim – CAT, BOR 2, BOR 3 and persecution risks – applicant from Pakistan claiming threats from Muttahida Quami Movement gangsters – refusal of leave to apply for judicial review by Deputy High Court Judge Woodcock – appeal dismissed for non-compliance with unless order to lodge appeal bundles – application for relief under Order 2 Rule 5 – whether relief should be granted for failure to comply with unless order – whether high standard of fairness under Sakthevel Prabakar confers absolute right to free legal representation at all stages – whether lack of interpreter or language assistance rendered proceedings procedurally unfair – Court of Appeal holds that relief from dismissal is not granted where applicant fails to provide sufficient explanation for non-compliance with unless order and underlying appeal is without merit – Court of Appeal confirms that neither Sakthevel Prabakar nor FB v Director of Immigration prescribes an absolute right to free legal representation at all stages of non-refoulement proceedings; duty lawyer scheme operates on case-by-case merit basis – Court of Appeal further holds that no procedural unfairness arose from absence of interpreter where applicant was demonstrably able to proceed in English and submitted documents in English – application for relief refused; appeal stands dismissed.
Legal issues: Relief from dismissal for non-compliance with unless order · Right to free legal representation in non-refoulement proceedings · Procedural unfairness from lack of language assistance
Outcome: Relief refused; the appeal stands dismissed.
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