Read the full judgment text of CACV 432/2019 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 23 April 2020 before Lam VP, Marlene Ng J.
Administrative law – judicial review – non-refoulement – leave to apply for judicial review – Torture Claims Appeal Board – appeal from refusal of leave – scope of appellate review – whether new arguments on appeal permitted – whether vague and unsupported grounds can reverse judge's decision – role of court in non-refoulement judicial review. The applicant, a national of Bangladesh, had a history of using false identities to enter and overstay in Hong Kong and was previously convicted of making a false representation to an immigration officer. His torture claim was rejected by the Director of Immigration in 2013, and his subsequent non-refoulement claim based on risks of harm from a creditor, alleged RAB threats, and suspected terrorism was rejected by the Director in 2017 and the Torture Claims Appeal Board in 2018. Deputy High Court Judge Josiah Lam refused leave to apply for judicial review, finding the Adjudicator's decision was not Wednesbury unreasonable, contained no errors of law, and adhered to high standards of fairness. On appeal, the Court of Appeal held that the applicant's complaint regarding insufficient inquiry of country of origin information was a new argument not raised below and would not be entertained; the complaint regarding physical and psychological evidence was a regurgitation of arguments already rejected; the remaining grounds were vague and lacked particulars; and the applicant's suggestion that the Judge failed to give reasons or discharge his duty was patently wrong. Following Re Moshsin Ali, Re Islam Rafiqul, Re Mizan Sikder, and Ibrahim v Simon Russell, the Court of Appeal upheld the general principle that the court's role in judicial review is not to provide a further avenue of appeal, and assessment of evidence, COI materials, and risk of harm are primarily within the province of the Board. Appeal dismissed.
Legal issues: Whether new arguments not raised below can be entertained on appeal · Whether vague and general grounds of appeal can reverse a refusal of leave · Whether the Judge erred in finding no reasonable prospect of success in the intended judicial review
Outcome: Appeal dismissed.
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