RE RASHEED MUHAMMAD

CACV 416/2019

[2020] HKCA 504

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF APPEAL

CIVIL APPEAL NO 416 OF 2019

(ON APPEAL FROM HCAL 1719/2018)

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JUDGMENT

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Hon Lam VP (giving the Judgment of the Court):

Introduction

1.  On 29 May 2020, the Applicant filed his Notice of Motion to apply for leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal against this Court’s judgment of 21 May 2020.  In that judgment we dismissed the Applicant’s appeal against the decision of Deputy High Court Judge K W Lung (“the Judge”) on 5 September 2019 refusing leave to apply for judicial review of the decision of the Director of Immigration (“the Director”) dated 20 October 2017 and the decision of the Torture Claims Appeal Board/an adjudicator of the Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office (“the Board”) dated 2 August 2018. 

2.  Section 22(1)(b) of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance, Cap 484 provides that an appeal shall lie to the Court of Final Appeal (“CFA”) at the discretion of this Court or the CFA if 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 CFA for decision.

3.  The Applicant set out the following grounds for leave to appeal in his Notice of Motion for leave to appeal to the CFA:

“ 1)   I did not know failure to lodge skeleton submission would coast me an appeal hearing. i specifically requested for legal aid as well to help me out from this situation and help me to submit all the documents properly in appeal registry. I supposed i relied too much on my as no translation was was given to me.

2)   Judges were procedurally unfair because there was significant in the part where I could not answerd very well during my interviewd. because i had a fasting that time and i was out of my mind. i forgot that time what was happened to me in pakistan.because that time i was thirsty and i did not answered very well even that i was unable to simple talk. i had few proofs that i already submit to immigration and torture claims appeal board. and they just refused with out any valid reason.

3)   As i mention before so many times thati can’t relocate anywhere in pakistan. and judges known very well about the situation of pakistan. in every department have bribe taker. i am unable to provide them.”[sic]

4.  The matters raised in the Notice of Motion are fact-sensitive ones relating to the specific circumstances of the case, as such we do not consider that any are questions of great general or public importance or otherwise ought to be submitted to the CFA for decision.

5.  Further, Ground (1) is obviously unsustainable in light of the unless order of 14 November 2019 which had been notified to the applicant by a letter of 18 November 2019.  Upon default, the Court also notified the applicant by a letter of 20 December 2019 that the appeal would be processed on the papers.

6.  The other grounds failed to engage with the reasons for the dismissal of the appeal and are patently unarguable. 

7.  For these reasons, we refuse to grant leave to appeal to the CFA.

Order

8.  For these reasons, we would dismiss the Applicant’s Notice of Motion, with no order as to costs.