Islam Mohhamed Serazul v. Torture Claims Appeal Board / Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office

HCAL 1460/2022

[2026] HKCFI 3516

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW LIST No 1460 of 2022

Application for Leave to Apply for Judicial Review

NOTIFICATION of the Judge’s decision (Ord 53 r 3)

Following;

Order by Deputy High Court Judge (Non-refoulement Claims) Isaac Chan:

The application for leave to apply for Judicial Review be dismissed.

Observations for the Applicant:

1.By a Form 86 filed on 9 December 2022 (“Form 86”), the applicant, a national of Bangladesh, applied for leave to apply for judicial review against the decision of the Torture Claim Appeal Board / the Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office (“Board”) dated 30 November 2022 (“Board’s Decision”)[1] confirming the decision of the Director of Immigration (“Director”) dated 29 June 2021. 

2.I refer to the Board’s Decision for the background of the applicant, the basis of the claim, the evidence and the argument the applicant has relied upon, which will not be repeated herein. 

3.The Court’s role in a judicial review is not to provide a further avenue of appeal.  The primary decision makers are the Director and the Board.  Given the seriousness of the issue involved in non-refoulement cases, the Court will adopt an enhanced standard in scrutinizing the decisions of the Board.  However, the Court will not intervene unless there are errors of law, procedural unfairness or irrationality in those decisions: see Nupur Mst v Director of Immigration [2018] HKCA 524, at paragraph 14.

4.The present application for leave is meant to be a filtering process, and I am not expected to give elaborated reasons for my decision: see Re Zunariyah [2018] HKCA 14, at paragraph 23.  I will therefore provide brief reasons for my decision as follows.

Discussion

5.The applicant has advanced no grounds for the intended application for judicial review. 

6.At the hearing on 4 May 2026, the applicant confirmed that he did not have any submissions to supplement the documents filed in support of the application under the Form 86. 

7.Applying the enhanced standard of scrutiny, I do not see any errors of law, procedural unfairness of irrationality in the Board’s Decision.

8.The Board’s Decision has, with respect, correctly and comprehensively set out the applicable legal principles.  I do not see any errors in either the summary or the application of those legal principles.

9.The Board’s Decision has also set out the procedural history of the applicant’s non-refoulement claim, including the details of the hearing before the Board on 11 January 2022.  The applicant has made no complaint of any irregularities or unfairness in the entire process.  

10.At the hearing before the Board, the applicant confirmed that the only problem he would face upon returning to Bangladesh was his own brother (see paragraph 52 of the Board’s Decision).  The purported risks posed by his brother was found by the Board to be unsubstantiated (see paragraphs 53 to 59 of the Board’s Decision).  In any event, the Board took the view that state protection would be available (see paragraph 56 of the Board’s Decision).  Based on the available materials, the conclusions of the Board were clearly justifiable.  I do not see any basis to suggest that the Board was irrational based on the principle set out in Associated Provincial Picture Houses v Wednesbury Corporation [1948] 1 KB 223.

11.I therefore dismiss the application for leave to apply for judicial review under the Form 86.

Dated the 22^nd day of June 2026

Where leave to apply has been granted, Applicants and their legal advisers are reminded of their obligation to reconsider the merits of their application in the light of the Respondent’s evidence

Form CALL-1