PETER PO FUN CHAN v. WINNIE C W CHEUNG

cacv 232/2006

in the high court of the

hong kong special administrative region

court of appeal

civil appeal no. 232 of 2006

(on appeal from HCAL NO. 162 of 2005)

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J U D G M E N T

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Hon Rogers VP:

1.  This is an appeal from a decision of Chu J, given on 6 February 2006, and 6 March 2006, when leave to appeal was refused.

2.  Leave to appeal out of time was given by Cheung JA and he has really set out the material facts which bear upon the decision that this court might otherwise have had to come to, as to whether leave to bring the judicial review proceedings should be given. 

3.  It suffices for me to say that I consider that leave to bring judicial review should have been granted right at the outset.  To put it in very simple terms, this was a complaint that the applicant’s application to be restored to the register, which was in the circumstances merely a formality, was delayed for so long that it, in effect, formed an extra penalty.  In my view, his application to be restored to the register should have been dealt with very expeditiously and it was not and in those circumstances he is fully justified in bringing judicial review proceedings.

4.  That said, it seems to me that all the costs incurred in the court below should be costs in the application.  The costs in this court, because it was necessary to bring this appeal, will have to be costs to the applicant because it was necessary for him to come here and necessary for him to get the order for him to be allowed to bring the judicial review proceedings.

5.  I can only conclude that I hope that this sorry chapter, which has been now going on for a very long time and commenced with anonymous letters, which has already been the subject of comment from this court, will soon come to an end.

Hon Le Pichon JA:

6.  I agree.