Read the full judgment text of CACV 53/2019 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 4 June 2019 before Hon Yeung Ag CJHC and Lisa Wong J.
Administrative law – judicial review – leave to apply for judicial review – non-refoulement claim – unified screening mechanism – torture claim – CIDTP claim – appeal against Director of Immigration's decision – Torture Claims Appeal Board – whether exceptional circumstances required to seek judicial review of Director's Decision – procedural fairness – translation and language assistance – Sakthevel Prabakar v Secretary for Security (2004) 7 HKCFAR 187 – whether high standards of fairness require interpretation service at all times – Pakistani national entered Hong Kong illegally by boat in 2009 – claimed fear of harm from girlfriend's family – Director refused non-refoulement claim – Board dismissed appeal finding parts of account implausible and internal relocation viable – applicant complained of lack of written translation of Answer 35, Board decision, and hearing bundle – Court of Appeal applies Nupur MST [2018] HKCA 524 – court will only reverse refusal of leave if errors of law, failure to consider relevant matters, or plainly wrong – applicant merely regurgitated arguments rejected below – wife's explanation of documents sufficient – all court documents in English indicated familiarity with or access to English language – high standards of fairness do not demand interpretation service at all times for non-refoulement claimant following Re Zaman Muhammad [2018] HKCA 486 and Re Gurnishan Singh [2018] HKCA 704 – grounds of appeal have no merits and are plainly not arguable – marriage to local girl not relied on below and not relevant – no prospect of success in intended application – appeal dismissed.
Legal issues: Whether the judge erred in refusing leave for judicial review of the Director's Decision · Whether the high standards of fairness require continuous interpretation services for a non-refoulement claimant
Outcome: Appeal dismissed.
Cited by 22 cases · Cites 6 cases