NGUYEN HOANG VIET AND OTHERS v. TORTURE CLAIMS APPEAL BOARD/ NON-REFOULEMENT CLAIMS PETITION OFFICE

CACV 339/2023, [2024] HKCA 874

On Appeal from [2023] HKCFI 2506

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF APPEAL

CIVIL APPEAL NO 339 OF 2023

(ON APPEAL FROM HCAL NO 847 OF 2019)

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JUDGMENT

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Hon Chow JA (giving the Judgment of the Court):

1.  On 12 October 2023, Deputy High Court Judge K W Lung made an order refusing to grant to the Applicants leave to apply for judicial review. The intended judicial review was against the decision of the Torture Claims Appeal Board/Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office dated 22 March 2019, whereby the Board dismissed the Applicants’ appeal against the decision of the Director of Immigration dated 1 March 2017 rejecting their non-refoulement claims.

2.  On 31 July 2024, this Court gave its judgment (“the CA Judgment”) dismissing the Applicants’ appeal against the said order of the Judge.  The basic facts of this case and the Court’s reasons for dismissing the Applicants’ appeal have been set out in the CA Judgment and will not be repeated here.

3.  By Notice of Motion filed on 14 August 2024, the Applicants apply for leave to appeal the CA Judgment to the Court of Final Appeal.  In the Notice of Motion, the Applicants allege that they will be tortured, beaten, or even killed if they return to Vietnam because the creditors and gangsters in Vietnam are cruel and violent, disregard the law, and are willing to kill people to satisfy their anger and ferocity.  The Applicants disagree with the Director’s assessment that they can relocate to live in another part of Vietnam, and allege that the Immigration Department failed to consider their human rights under, inter alia, the Basic Law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

4.  The Applicants have not filed any written submissions in support of their application, contrary to the directions given by the Registrar of Civil Appeals dated 14 August 2024.

5.  Pursuant to paragraph 3 of Practice Direction 2.1, we determine the present application for leave to appeal on paper without an oral hearing.

6.  Under s 22(1)(b) of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance, Cap 484, an appeal shall lie to the Court of Final Appeal at the discretion of the Court of Appeal or the Court of Final Appeal in any civil cause or matter if, in the opinion of the Court of Appeal or the Court of Final Appeal (as the case may be), the question involved in the appeal is one which, by reason of its great general or public importance, or otherwise, ought to be submitted to the Court of Final Appeal for decision.

7.  No question of great general or public importance involved in the intended appeal is identified in the Notice of Motion.  We are unable to see any such question being involved in the intended appeal. The Applicants have not identified any error in the CA Judgment, or raised any viable ground of appeal against the CA Judgment.  We are satisfied that the intended appeal has no merits and no reasonable prospect of success.

8.  There is also no basis to grant leave to appeal on the “or otherwise” limb in s 22(1)(b) of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance.

9.  Accordingly, the application for leave to appeal is refused and the Notice of Motion is dismissed.

10.  For the avoidance of doubt, we shall treat the non-compliance with Order 80 rule 2 in these proceedings as a mere irregularity without rendering the 3^rd Applicant’s appeal a nullity.