RE CASWATI

CACV 415/2018

[2019] HKCA 359

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF APPEAL

CIVIL APPEAL NO 415 OF 2018

(ON APPEAL FROM HCAL 1/2018)

________________________

__________________________

________________

JUDGMENT

________________

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

1.  By our judgment dated 24 December 2018 ([2018] HKCA 988), we dismissed the applicant’s appeal from the decision of Deputy High Court Judge Bruno Chan dated 14 August 2018 ([2018] HKCFI 1882) refusing leave to apply for judicial review.

2.  In her notice of motion filed on 4 January 2019, the applicant sought leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal against our judgment on the ground that her life would not be safe in her home country.

3.  The applicant lodged her written submissions on 17 January 2019.  In it, she said that she was not aware of the requirement of lodging skeleton submission and reiterated her complaint regarding the lack of legal representation in respect of the assessment of her BOR 2 risk.

4.  The unless order of 11 October 2018 (which had been duly sent to the applicant) clearly set out the consequence of failure to lodge submissions by the stipulated deadline.  She was further notified by a letter of 13 November 2018 that due to the failure to lodge submissions, the hearing date of 6 December 2018 was vacated and the appeal was to be processed on the paper. We do not accept her assertion that she was not aware of the requirement to lodge submissions.

5.  We have adequately addressed the applicant’s compliant relating to the lack of legal representation at [11] and [12] of our judgment. 

6.  In our judgment, the applicant failed to raise in the notice of motion and the written submissions any question of great general or public importance.  Nor do we see any reason to grant leave on the “or otherwise” limb.  The statutory criteria for granting leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal is not met: see section 22(1)(b) of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (Cap 484).

7.  Accordingly, we dismiss the application for leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal.