Yeni Setyawati v. Torture Claims Appeal Board / Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office and Another

CACV 360/2019

[2020] HKCA 112

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF APPEAL

CIVIL APPEAL NO 360 OF 2019

(ON APPEAL FROM HCAL 1687 OF 2018)

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BETWEEN

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Before:  Hon Barma, Au JJA and S T Poon J in Court

Date of Written Submissions:  23 December 2019

Date of Judgment:  28 May 2020

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J U D G M E N T

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Hon S T Poon J (giving the Judgment of the Court):

1.This court (AU JA and S T Poon J) handed down judgment on 29 November 2019 ([2019] HKCA 1310) dismissing the applicant’s appeal against an order of DHCJ K W Lung given on 29 July 2019 refusing his application for leave to apply for judicial review concerning his non‑refoulement claim. The facts and issues in the appeal before the Court of Appeal, as well as the court’s reasons for dismissing it, are set out in our judgment and will not be repeated here.

2.The applicant filed a Notice of Motion on 10 December 2019 for leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal and lodged his written submissions on 23 December 2019.

3.Pursuant to the directions made by the Registrar of Civil Appeals on 12 December 2019, the Notice of Motion shall be determined on paper only without an oral hearing, unless the court otherwise directs.  We agree it is appropriate to determine this application on paper.

4.In the Notice of Motion, the applicant stated as follows:

“1. This is my Notice of Motion, for my notice of Appeal, refused on 29 November 2019, I made my Appeal because I am still afraid to return to my Country, my life would be at danger, I would be face Foreseeable dangers possibility against my life, so therefore I would request to the court to consider my fears, only, for which I had made my Appeal and Judicial Review application HCAL1687/2018.

2. In the judgement the honourable judges, did not consider the property the assessment of my claim, by Torture [Claims] Appeal Board and the [Director].”(sic)

5.In the written submissions the applicant repeated largely her skeleton submissions filed on 18 September 2019 in support of her appeal to this court. The grounds and arguments of the applicant had already been dealt with by this court in paragraphs 20 to 24 of our judgment. 

6.Section 22(1)(b) of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (Cap. 484) provides that leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal shall be granted at the discretion of the Court of Appeal or the Court of Final Appeal if the question in the appeal involves great general or public importance or otherwise ought to be determined by the Court of Final Appeal.

7.No question of great general or public importance has been identified in the grounds in the Notice of Motion.

8.Nor do we see any basis for granting leave on the “or otherwise” limb under section 22(1)(b).

9.In the circumstances, we cannot find any basis for granting leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal.

10.By virtue of the above, the Notice of Motion dated 9 December 2019 is dismissed.

The appellant, unrepresented, appeared in person.