Read the full judgment text of CAMP 501/2022 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 15 November 2023 before Chu VP, Barma JA.
Civil procedure – judicial review – non-refoulement claim – Indian national fearing harm from Mr Goyal – torture, persecution, BOR 3 and BOR 2 risks – extension of time to appeal – whether the applicant provided a reasonable explanation for delay in filing notice of appeal – letter sent to last known address and not returned undelivered – applicant failed to elaborate on how he became aware of the decision – over one month delay in renewed application – whether the Judge erred in refusing leave to apply for judicial review – whether the Board should have considered the merits of the intended appeal under s.37ZT(3) of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap 115) – Re Khan Kamal Ahmed [2019] HKCA 377, Re Qasim Ali [2019] HKCA 430, Re Castillo Raquel Adona [2022] HKCA 1053 – the Board refused the late filing on a technical ground – even if the Board had considered the merits, the appeal would have been meritless – Re Castillo Raquel Adona applied – the Board's 2nd Decision concerned only the BOR 2 risk – applicant's earlier claims under torture, persecution and BOR 3 risks were found implausible and based on bare assertions – Re Kulwinder Kaur [2022] HKCA 48 – upon determining that there is no BOR 3 risk, there is no arguable ground for any BOR 2 risk – applicant did not challenge findings in the Director's 1st Decision or the Board's 1st Decision – whether non-refoulement claimant absolutely entitled to legal representation at all stages – Re Zunariyah, Re Zahid Abbas, Re Tariq Farhan, Re Lopchan Subash, Re Ahmed Syed Rafiq – complaint of lack of legal representation and English proficiency unfounded – applicant was able to lodge comprehensible English submissions – appeal against refusal of leave for judicial review is not a fresh application – applicant must point to errors by the Judge – no such errors identified – no prospect of success – extension of time for hopeless appeal refused – summons filed on 29 November 2022 dismissed.
Legal issues: Whether to grant extension of time to appeal the Judge's refusal to extend time · Whether the Judge erred in refusing leave to apply for judicial review despite the Board not considering the merits of the BOR 2 risk appeal · Whether a non-refoulement claimant is entitled to legal representation at all stages of the screening process
Outcome: Application for extension of time to appeal dismissed; the summons filed on 29 November 2022 is dismissed.
Cited by 31 cases · Cites 13 cases