SUDUHAKURALAGE CHAMINDA SRIYAKANTHA SENARATH v. TORTURE CLAIMS APPEAL BOARD / NON REFOULEMENT CLAIMS PETITION OFFICE

HCAL 764/2017

[2020] HKCFI 2046

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW LIST

NO 764 OF 2017

___________________

___________________

____________________

D E C I S I O N

____________________

Introduction

1.  This is an application dated 17 July 2020 to appeal my decision of 15 May 2020 refusing leave to apply for judicial review.  The applicant had 14 days in which to apply to appeal that decision.  He did not do so.  He now requires leave to extend time to appeal against that order.  The applicant attended court and was assisted by an interpreter.

Procedural Background

2.  The applicant is a claimant under Article 3 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.  He had previously entered Hong Kong illegally on 21 November 2006 and raised a torture claim but had withdrawn it in 2012 and been repatriated to Sri Lanka that same year.  On this occasion, he entered Hong Kong illegally on 8 August 2013 and surrendered to the Immigration Department on 19 August 2013.  He submitted a non‑refoulement claim form on 27 August 2015 and was interviewed by the Director of Immigration (“the Director”) on 13 November 2015.  The Director dismissed his claim under all heads, by Notice of Decision on 14 January 2016 and by Notice of Further Decision on 1 December 2016.  He appealed those decisions to the Torture Claims Appeal Board (“the TCAB”).  The adjudicator of the TCAB, Ms Mary Yuen (“the Adjudicator”), heard him on 20 December 2016.  The Adjudicator refused his appeal on 26 September 2017.

3.  The applicant filed a notice of application on a Form 86 seeking leave to apply for judicial review on 13 October 2017 and did not request an oral hearing.  The matter was therefore considered on the papers.  His application for leave to apply for judicial review was refused on 15 May 2020.  He had 14 days from that date to appeal that decision which would have expired on 29 May 2020.  By way of summons dated 17 July 2020, he seeks leave to appeal out of time.

4.  An applicant does not require leave to appeal against a CFI judge’s refusal to grant leave to apply for judicial review (Order 59, rule 21(1)(g)).  The applicant may appeal as of right.  However, an applicant who wishes to appeal against a CFI judge’s refusal to grant leave to apply for judicial review, which is an interlocutory order, has to observe the time limits for appeal under Order 53, rule 3(4) of the Rules of the High Court which allows 14 days.  Where the applicant is out of time to appeal against a judge’s refusal to grant leave to apply for judicial review, an extension of time may be granted by a judge of the Court of First Instance under Order 59, rule 2B(6).  The Court is required to consider (1) the length of the delay; (2) the reasons for the delay; (3) the prospect of success in the intended appeal; and (4) the prejudice to the respondent if an extension of time were granted[1].

5.  In order to obtain that leave, an application must be made promptly and it must be supported by an affirmation or affidavit deposing to any facts relied upon by the applicant and giving a full account of and explanation for the whole of the delay since time expired.

6.  Whilst the granting of an extension of time is entirely within the discretion of the Court, the applicant is required to explain the reasons for his delay as this forms part of the consideration of whether there is good reason to allow an extension of time.  The applicant accepted he was late and gave no reason within his affirmation as to why that was the case.  In court he could provide no reason as to why his Form CALL‑1 had not been delivered as there was a post box and he had received other mail.  He could not explain why his mail had been returned to the Court.  He submitted that he had been informed of the refusal to grant leave to apply for judicial review in June but had taken some time to take out the summons as he did not have the necessary fees or money for transportation.  It is the duty of a litigant to give the Court an address to which correspondence or notice can come to his attention in a timely manner[2]. The consequences of any delay arising from failing to do so will fall upon the litigant.[3]

7.  Even if the Court did accept that the explanation given for the delay is reasonable and the difficulty this applicant experienced with his finances, the Court is required to examine whether there is any merit in the applicant’s appeal[4]. Whether there is any such merit will depend upon well‑established legal principles[5] including the fact that the Court in judicial review is not to provide a further avenue of appeal on the merits of the underlying claim.  Unfortunately, the applicant had no such grounds.  The question for the Court is whether any submissions truly seek to review the exercise of a judicial function and in so doing indicate a reasonable prospect of success in the intended appeal[6].  There being no such submissions, there was nothing against which the Court could undertake this exercise.

8.  As the role of the Court in judicial review is not to provide a further avenue of appeal from the decisions of the Director and the Adjudicator, it follows that an appeal from this Court should not be founded upon any attempt to appeal those same decisions.  It is an appeal from the decision of this Court and the applicant should look to draft grounds of appeal on that basis.  This was explained in some detail to the applicant when he appeared.

Conclusion

9.  The applicant has now been in Hong Kong since 2006. He has been interacting with various government agencies since that date including the period when he withdrew his original claim and returned to Sri Lanka.  The explanation he has offered to this Court, as to why he did not receive the Order is unfortunate, but it is not the end of the matter.

10.  I have considered his underlying application.  It has no merit as explained in the initial refusal of leave. There were no grounds of review and none could be ascertained from the papers. There was no complaint before the Court as to the decision to refuse leave. The applicant merely wishes the Court of Appeal to consider his situation afresh.  Having considered the length of delay, reason for the delay and underlying merits of his application as well as his lack of grounds of appeal from my decision, it would not be in the interest of justice to grant an extension of time in all the circumstances of this case.

11.  The applicant’s summons dated 17 July 2020 be dismissed.