Read the full judgment text of CACV 55/2018 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 4 May 2018 before Hon Lam VP and Yuen JA.
Administrative law – judicial review – leave to apply – non-refoulement claim – Torture Claims Appeal Board – Practice Direction 4.1 – skeleton submissions – non-compliance with unless order – abandonment of right to oral hearing – whether reasonably arguable basis for judicial review – applicant failed to identify any error of law or procedure – appeal dismissed. The applicant, an Indian national who overstayed in Hong Kong and made a non-refoulement claim, sought leave to apply for judicial review of the Torture Claims Appeal Board's decision dismissing her appeal. The judge below refused leave on the papers, holding that the applicant had set out no grounds of review and that mere dissatisfaction with the Board's decision was not a basis for judicial review. On appeal to the Court of Appeal, the applicant failed to comply with an order to lodge a skeleton argument by the specified deadline, notwithstanding an unless order. The Court of Appeal held that non-compliance with the requirement to lodge skeleton submissions, notwithstanding an unless order, is treated as abandonment of the right to an oral hearing, and the appeal was processed on papers based on materials already lodged. The Court further held that the applicant had failed to identify any error of law or procedure in the proceedings before the Board, and there was no reasonably arguable basis to challenge the fairness of the process. The Court of Appeal therefore agreed with the judge below that leave to apply for judicial review should not be granted, and dismissed the appeal accordingly.
Legal issues: Consequence of non-compliance with order to lodge skeleton argument · Whether leave to apply for judicial review should be granted
Outcome: Appeal dismissed; leave to apply for judicial review refused.
Cited by 62 cases · Cites 1 case