NGUYEN TIEN HAI v. TORTURE CLAIMS APPEAL BOARD

HCAL 1575/2021

[2026] HKCFI 1683

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW LIST

NO. 1575 OF 2021

_____________

BETWEEN

_____________

_____________

D E C I S I O N

_____________

1.  On 18 November 2025 I refused to grant leave to the Applicant to apply for judicial review of a decision of the Torture Claims Appeal Board (“Board”) in rejecting/dismissing his non-refoulement claim upon finding that none of the grounds put forward by him reasonably arguable for his intended challenge, that there was no error of law or procedural unfairness in the process before the Director of Immigration (“Director”) or the Board or in their decisions, and that there was no reasonable prospect of success in his intended application.

2.  The Applicant now by a summons issued on 22 December 2025 seeks leave to appeal against that decision out of time, of which I did not find necessary to require any hearing therefor, and as the 14-day period after the decision within which to file his appeal under Order 53 Rule 3(4) of the Rules of the High Court, Cap 4A expired on 2 December 2025, he was therefore some 20 days late with his intended appeal.

3.  In considering whether to extend time for appealing against a decision refusing leave to apply for judicial review, the Court shall have regard to (i) the length of the delay; (ii) the reason for the delay; (iii) the prospect of the intended appeal; and (iv) the prejudice to the respondent if extension of time were granted: see Re MK HCMP 2609/2016, 10 January 2017; Chu On Fong Winter v The Appeal Panel (Housing) HCMP 982/2017, 20 July 2017; Islam Raja Rais v Director of Immigration HCMP 881/2017, 26 June 2017; Re Gurung Min Bahadur [2018] HKCA 226; and Re Saqlain Muhammad [2018] HKCA 346.

4.  In the Applicant’s case, a delay of 20 days must be considered as significant, for which he explained in his affirmation that initially he thought it was safe for him to return to his home country and therefore he requested to withdraw his application, but subsequently he realized that the threats from his creditor still exist that he cannot return to Vietnam, but by then he was already out of time with his intended appeal.

5.  The court record shows that the decision was sent on the same day of 18 November 2025 to the Applicant’s then reported address which is the same as the one stated in his present application without being returned through undelivered post, while a change of mind about one’s legal proceedings can never be accepted as any valid justification for the resultant delay, I am therefore not satisfied that the Applicant has provided any good or valid reason for his significant delay.

6.  More importantly, the Applicant has also failed to put forth any proper or valid draft or proposed grounds of appeal, or any particulars of any error in the decision or why it may reasonably be argued that the decision was unfair or unreasonable either in his summons or in his affirmation. As such, and in the absence of any error in the decision being clearly and properly identified by the Applicant, I do not see any prospect of success in his intended appeal.

7.  In the premises, and for the reasons given, it would be futile to extend time for what appears to be a hopeless appeal. Accordingly, I refuse to grant leave to the Applicant to appeal out of time, and dismiss his summons.