Read the full judgment text of CACV 53/2023 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 28 December 2023 before Yuen JA and Au JA.
Civil appeal – non-refoulement claim – judicial review – leave to apply for judicial review – Vietnamese national entered Hong Kong illegally in October 2016 and made a non-refoulement claim alleging risk of harm or death from her creditor due to defaulted loan repayment – Director of Immigration rejected claim on 5 September 2017 on all applicable grounds (BOR 2 risk, BOR 3 risk, torture risk and persecution risk) – Board dismissed appeal on 28 December 2018 finding significant inconsistencies in applicant's evidence regarding loan repayment term (varied between one week and one month) and circumstances of alleged assault (motorcycle versus on foot; creditor's house versus her own house) – Board rejected claim for lack of credibility – applicant filed Form 86 without grounds – Judge below refused leave to apply for judicial review on 13 February 2023 – whether Judge erred in refusing leave – supervisory role of court – assessment of evidence and Country of Origin information within province of Board – court will not intervene absent errors of law, procedural unfairness or irrationality – whether applicant denied procedural fairness by lack of proper legal and language assistance – no absolute right to legal representation at all stages of non-refoulement process – Duty Lawyer Service provided at Director's stage – Vietnamese interpreter provided at Board hearing – English-language court documents and written submissions filed by applicant – appeal dismissed
Legal issues: Whether the Court of Appeal should reverse the Judge's refusal of leave to apply for judicial review · Whether the applicant was denied procedural fairness by lack of proper legal and language assistance
Outcome: Appeal dismissed
Cited by 26 cases · Cites 7 cases