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HCAL364/2018
[2019] HKCFI 1611
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW LIST No. 364 of 2018
BETWEEN
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Ahamed Mohammad Safik |
Applicant |
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Torture Claims Appeal Board/
Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office |
Putative Respondent |
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Director of Immigration |
Putative Interested Party |
Application for Leave to Apply for Judicial Review
NOTIFICATION of the Judge’s Decision (Ord. 53 r. 3)
Following:
Order by Deputy High Court Judge Josiah Lam:
Application for leave for judicial review be dismissed.
Observations for the Applicant
Background
1. The Applicant is a national of Bangladesh. He is now aged 38. (DOB: 1 February 1981).
2. The Applicant claimed he would be harmed or killed by some people of the Awami League (“AL”). He belonged to the Chatra Dal, which was the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (“BNP”). He refused to join AL.
3. The Applicant left Bangladesh for China on 5 August 2014. He sneaked into Hong Kong on 6 September 2014. He was arrested by the police on 15 September 2014 and raised a non-refoulement claim on 18 September 2014.
The Director’s decision
4. The Director of Immigration (“the Director”) did not accept the Applicant faced any (i) risk of torture,[1] (ii) risk of persecution[2] and (iii) risk of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (BOR3 risk)[3]. He also considered reasonable state protection and internal relocation were available to the Applicant in any event. On 25 July 2016, the Director refused the Applicant's claim with respect to those three applicable grounds.
5. On 1 June 2017, the Director further refused the Applicant's claim with respect to the fourth applicable ground: risk of violation of the right to life (BOR2 risk)[4].
The Board's decision
6. The Applicant appealed to the Torture Claims Appeal Board/ Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office (“TCAB/NCPO” or simply “the Board”). The Adjudicator interviewed him on 27 June 2017.
7. The Adjudicator found there were inconsistent and implausible features in the Applicant's allegations. He did not believe the Applicant's claim.
8. The Adjudicator did not accept the Applicant faced any torture risk, persecution risk, BOR2 risk or BOR3 risk. On 7 July 2017, the Adjudicator refused the Applicant's claim with respect to all the four applicable grounds.
1st Judicial Review
9. On 25 July 2017, the Applicant applied for leave for judicial review. He named the Adjudicator as respondent and the Director as interested party. The case number was HCAL448/2017.
10. Deputy High Court Judge Woodcock (“the Judge”) heard the Applicant on 17 November 2017.
11. On 2 February 2018, the Judge gave her decision. She had considered the case under ‘rigorous examination and anxious scrutiny’. She found the Board’s decision was not Wednesbury unreasonable. The Adjudicator made no errors of law and there was no procedural unfairness. The Adjudicator had adhered to the high standards of fairness required of the Applicant’s non-refoulement claim. The Judge ruled the Applicant's case was not reasonably arguable. She refused to grant the Applicant leave for judicial review.
12. There was no appeal of the Judge’s ruling in HCAL448/2017.
2nd Judicial Review
13. However, the Applicant on 7 March 2018 reapplied for leave for judicial review. This time, the case number was HCAL364/2018. The Applicant named the Board as respondent and the Director as interested party.
Grounds of 2nd Judicial Review
14. The Applicant said he was given the appeal bundle only a few days before the Board hearing. He complained that he did not have sufficient time to prepare for the appeal due to language problem and lack of legal representation.
Court hearing
15. The hearing took place on 15 August 2018. The Applicant was in person. A Bengali interpreter provided service in court.
16. The Applicant confirmed all the grounds of judicial review were in the documents. He also confirmed he had submitted all of his case to the Director and the Adjudicator for their consideration of his non-refoulement claim.
17. The Applicant was asked why he repeated applying for leave for judicial review. He said there were lots of problems in his country so he applied for leave for judicial review again.
Discussion
18. Judicial review is concerned with the reasonableness, lawfulness and fairness of the decisions and the process of reaching such decisions by the authorities.
19. A non-refoulement claim involves ‘life and limb’; any decision will bear significant consequences on an applicant. Therefore, high standards of fairness must be achieved. The court should look at an applicant’s case under ‘rigorous examination and anxious scrutiny’.[5] Nevertheless, it is said in Re Islam Rafiqul: –
“The role of the Court in a judicial review is not to provide a further avenue of appeal. The primary decision-makers are the Director and the Board. Though in non-refoulement cases the Court will adopt an enhanced standard in scrutinising the decision of the Board due to the seriousness of issue at hand, the Court should not usurp the role of the Board. Assessment of evidence and COI materials and risk of harm, state protection and viability of internal relocation are primarily within the province of the Board (and the Director). The Court will not intervene by way of judicial review unless there are errors of law or procedural unfairness or irrationality in the decision of the Board.” [6]
20. The Applicant's claim had been dealt with by the Director and the Adjudicator. He applied for leave for judicial review for the first time on 25 July 2017. The case number was HCAL448/2017. Deputy High Court Judge Woodcock heard the Applicant on 17 November 2017.
21. The Judge gave her decision on 2 February 2018. The Applicant did not appeal against the Judge’s decision. Instead, he on 7 March 2018 filed the 2nd Judicial Review application (HCAL364/2018).
22. The Applicant was asked why he repeated applying for leave for judicial review. He said there were still lots of problems in his country.
23. The Applicant said there was ‘a lack of presentation’ in his previous application for leave for judicial review.[7] That was not correct. The Applicant presented a number of complaints in his affirmation dated 25 July 2017 in the 1st Judicial Review. Those included his present complaints. He was also before the Judge on 17 November 2017 to explain his first application for leave for judicial review.
24. The Applicant must show good reason to justify a renewed application for leave for judicial review. He could not simply ask the court to consider his case again on such grounds already submitted or which could have been submitted in the 1st Judicial Review.
25. The Applicant failed to justify his 2nd Judicial Review application, which was merely a repetition. His unjustified repetition must be regarded as an abuse of process. His case had been duly considered by the Judge in the 1st Judicial Review. I should not reconsider it.
Conclusion
26. The Applicant fails to justify his repeated application for leave for judicial review. His application is therefore dismissed.
Dated the 28th day of June 2019
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(Henry Ng)
for Registrar, High Court |
Where leave to apply has been granted, Applicants and their legal advisers are reminded of their obligation to reconsider the merits of their application in the light of the Respondent’s evidence
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Notes for the Applicant:
If leave has been granted, the Applicant or the Applicant’s solicitors must:
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a) serve on the respondent and such interested parties as may be directed by the Court the order granting leave and any directions given within 14 days after the leave was granted (Order 53, rule 4A);
b) issue the originating summons within 14 days after the grant of leave and serve it in accordance with Order 53, rule 5; and
c) supply to every other party copies of every affidavit which the Applicant proposes to use at the hearing, including the affidavit in support of the application for leave (Order 53, rule 6(5)).
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Sent to the Applicant on 28/6/2019
Ahamed Mohammad Safik
Applicant’s ref. no:
Nil.
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Sent to the Putative Respondent / the Putative Respondent’s solicitors / such Putative Interested Parties as may be directed by the Court / the Putative Interested Parties’ solicitors on 28/6/2019
Torture Claims Appeal Board/
Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office
Putative Respondent’s ref. no.:
USM 4314/16/8/33/B588
Director of Immigration
Putative Interested Party’s ref. no.:
QA T/C 624/16 & RBCZ 9001783/17 (formerly RBCZ 2953/14)
Department of Justice,
Senior Assistant Law Office
(Civil Law)
(Civil Litigation Unit 2)
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Form CALL-1
[1] As defined in Part VIIC of the Immigration Ordinance, Cap 115, which definition is the same as that found in Article 1 of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
[2] By reference to the non-refoulement principle under Articles 33 and 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
[3] Under Article 3 of section 8 of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, Cap 383.
[4] Under Article 2 of section 8 of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, Cap 383.
[5] Secretary for Security v Prabakar (2004) 7 HKCFAR 187, paras 44-45.
[6] CACV 219/2018 [2018] HKCA 570, para 14(1).
[7] The Applicant's affirmation dated 7 March 2018, para 8.
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