NG PAK TING v. 法律援助署署長莊因東先生 AND ANOTHER

HCAL 1657/2024

[2024] HKCFI 2972

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW LIST NO 1657 OF 2024

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D E C I S I O N

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A.  Introduction

1.  By Form 86 dated 20 September 2024, the Applicant seeks leave to apply for judicial review, to seek to challenge a decision of the Director of Legal Aid (“Director”) refusing the grant of legal aid to the Applicant (“Decision”).

2.  I can decide this application on paper.

B.  The Application

3.  From the papers provided with the current application, it can be seen that the Decision refusing the grant of legal aid was dated 9 October 2023. The refusal notice also specified that the Applicant had a right of appeal against that decision to the Registrar of the High Court.

4.  The Applicant apparently exercised his right of appeal on 20 October 2023. The Notice of Appeal bearing that date was provided by the Applicant with his current application.

5.  The Applicant’s complaints made in his Form 86 and affirmation include that: (1) the Legal Aid Department (“LAD”) deliberately stalled his application for legal aid, taking nearly one year to issue the notice of refusal; (2) the refusal to grant legal aid was an irrational decision; (3) the LAD has gone so far as to write a false statement, inconsistent with the facts, in the notice of appeal, and has repeatedly forced the Applicant to sign it in an attempt to submit a false statement with his signature.

6.  Though the merits of those complaints appear weak, it is unnecessary to delve further into them for the purposes of deciding the current application. This is for two reasons.

7.  First, the application seeking to challenge the Decision made on 9 October 2023 is significantly out of time. Any application for leave to apply for judicial review should be made as soon as possible and in any event within three months of the impugned decision, unless time is extended for good reason. The current application was made nearly a year after the Decision, and no good reason for extending time has been put forward, nor does one exist on the materials.

8.  Secondly, in any event, the Applicant had – and he has pursued – an available alternative remedy, in the form of the legal aid appeal to the Registrar, made by the Notice of Appeal dated 20 October 2023 (which was in time).

9.  In those circumstances, the current application stands to be dismissed.

C.  Result

10.  The Applicant’s application for leave to apply for judicial review is dismissed, with no order as to costs.