Case Document

100%Judiciary

CACV 472/2019

[2020] HKCA 800

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF APPEAL

CIVIL APPEAL NO 472 OF 2019

(ON APPEAL FROM HCAL NO 530 OF 2018)

____________________

RE:

HARPAL SINGH

Applicant

____________________

Before:

Hon Cheung, Barma and Au JJA in Court

Date of Written Submissions:	22 June 2020
Date of Judgment:	6 October 2020

____________________

J U D G M E N T

____________________

Hon Au JA (giving the Judgment of the Court):

1.On 15 June 2020, the applicant applied by Notice of Motion for leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal (“the CFA”) against this Court’s (Cheung and Au JJA) judgment of 9 June 2020 (“the Judgment”) [2020] HKCA 452.

2.In the Judgment, we dismissed the applicant’s appeal against the decision of Deputy High Court Judge Bruno Chan on 2 October 2019 [2019] HKCFI 1014 refusing leave to apply for judicial review.

3.The facts and issues in the appeal, as well as the Court’s reasons for dismissing it, are set out in the Judgment. We will not repeat them here. After reviewing the Notice of Motion, pursuant to paragraph 3 of Practice Direction 2.1, we see no reason to deviate from the usual practice and proceed to consider this application without an oral hearing.

4.Section 22(1)(b) of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (Cap 484) provides that an appeal shall lie to the CFA at the discretion of this Court or the CFA if the question involved in the appeal is one which, by reason of its great general or public importance, or otherwise, ought to be submitted to the CFA for decision.

5.In the applicant’s Notice of Motion and his written submissions lodged on 22 June 2020, he simply repeated his claim that he would face danger if he were to be refouled. Other than that, he did not identify any errors in the Judgment.

6.These are not viable grounds of appeal, and the intended appeal has no merits.

7.Further, and in any event, the applicant has failed to identify any question of great general or public importance that ought to be submitted to the CFA for decision. Nor do we see any basis to grant leave on the “otherwise” limb. Plainly, the statutory requirements under section 22(b) of the HKCFAO are not met.

8.For these reasons, we refuse to grant leave to the applicant, and dismiss the applicant’s Notice of Motion accordingly.