DINH VAN PHUOC v. TORTURE CLAIMS APPEAL BOARD / NON-REFOULEMENT CLAIMS PETITION OFFICE

CACV 146/2026, [2026] HKCA 960

On Appeal From [2026] HKCFI 653

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF APPEAL

CIVIL APPEAL NO 146 OF 2026

(ON APPEAL FROM HCAL NO 1239 OF 2025)

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J U D G M E N T

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Hon G Lam JA (giving the Judgment of the Court):

Introduction

1.  This is an appeal against the decision of Deputy High Court Judge K.W. Lung (“Judge”) on 11 February 2026 refusing to grant leave to the applicant to apply for judicial review against the decision of the Torture Claims Appeal Board/adjudicator of the Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office (“Board”) dated 1 April 2025.  In that decision, the Board upheld the decision of the Director of Immigration (“Director”) dated 24 January 2025 rejecting the applicant’s non-refoulement claim.

Background

2.  The applicant is a national of Vietnam born in 1998 and his claim was made on the basis that if he returned to Vietnam, his creditor (Pham Truong An) would harm or kill him due to his inability to repay a loan.  Details of the applicant’s background, the basis of his claim and arguments advanced before the Board as well as the Board’s reasons for rejecting his appeal are all set out in the Board’s decision: see [5] of the Form CALL-1.  The Judge has set out the grounds advanced by the applicant in support of the application and his reasons for refusal of the application: see [12] – [17] of the Form CALL-1.

Appeal to this Court

3.  On 23 February 2026, the applicant filed his Notice of Appeal against the Judge’s decision.  His stated grounds of appeal were, essentially, that he would be beaten or even killed by his creditor if refouled, that internal relocation would not be feasible, and that the Director failed to consider his human rights.

4.  As the applicant did not lodge any written submissions, the scheduled hearing of his appeal was vacated pursuant to the directions of the Court.  We shall accordingly determine the appeal on the basis of the available documents and materials.

Discussion

5.  In assessing the merits of the appeal, we shall have regard to the legal principles which this Court has adopted in dealing with appeals in non-refoulement cases: see Nupur Mst v Director of Immigration [2018] HKCA 524 at [14]; Re Md Shohel Sheak [2018] HKCA 714 at [13]; and Re Limbu Birkhaman [2019] HKCA 50 at [11].  In particular, the role of the Court in a judicial review is not to provide a further avenue of appeal.  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.  In the determination of an appeal against the refusal of leave by the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal will only examine the decision of the judge in light of the grounds advanced by the applicant.  If no viable ground is put forward to reverse the judge’s decision, the appeal should be dismissed.  It is not the role of this Court to examine the decision of the Board afresh as if the appeal were a fresh application for judicial review.

6.  In the present case, the Board found that there was no real risk of harm upon refoulement as alleged, because the applicant’s alleged ill-treatment did not attain the minimum level of severity, this was purely a loan dispute between the applicant and his creditor, and internal relocation to any city other than his hometown would be viable for the applicant as a healthy mature adult with secondary education and years of working experience.  These are findings of fact open to the Board based on the evidence it received and for the reasons it gave. The applicant has failed to show any reasonably arguable public law error in relation to the Board’s decision.  As for the ground advanced relating to human rights, it consists of a mere general and bald assertion regarding the decision of the Director without any particulars.  It does not constitute a viable ground of appeal: see Re Salim Ahmed [2020] HKCA 244 at [20].

7.  Equally, the applicant has not been able to demonstrate any error in the decision of the Judge or advance any viable ground of appeal against the Judge’s decision.  We are not satisfied that there is any error in the Judge’s decision.

8.  The applicant’s appeal is accordingly dismissed.