RE SORIANO DEBBIE MANALO

CAMP 18/2023, [2026] HKCA 400

On appeal from [2022] HKCFI 531

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF APPEAL

MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS NO 18 OF 2023

(ON AN INTENDED APPEAL FROM HCAL 2172 OF 2018)

-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------

___________________

J U D G M E N T

___________________

Hon Barma JA (giving the Judgment of the Court):

1.  On 7 November 2023, this court (Yuen and Barma JJA) handed down a judgment dismissing the applicant’s application for extension of time to appeal against the decision of DHCJ KW Lung (“the Judge”) dated 23 February 2022 refusing to grant leave to the applicant to apply for judicial review. The applicant had sought to review the decision of the Torture Claims Appeal Board dismissing her appeal against the decision of the Director of Immigration rejecting her non‑refoulement claim.

2.  The facts and issues in the applicant’s application, as well as the court’s reasons for dismissing it, are set out in our judgment.[1]  We will not repeat them here.

3.  The applicant subsequently applied, by a Notice of Motion filed on 8 November 2023, for leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal.  In the Notice of Motion, the applicant merely stated that she disagrees with the Judge’s decision and that her claim had been determined unfairly.

4.  In her written submissions lodged on 17 November 2023, the applicant complained about unfairness in the proceedings based on the lack of “interpretation service”, and that the court was “negligent and failed to perform a standard duty of care” in this regard.

5.  Having considered the applicant’s Notice of Motion and written submissions, we see no reason to depart from the usual practice of determining an application of this kind on the papers.  We have, therefore, determined the applicant’s application on the basis of the documents filed.

6.  The matters stated by the applicant do not constitute grounds for granting leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal. The applicant has failed to identify any question of great general or public importance for the Court of Final Appeal to determine, as required by section 22(1)(b) of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance, Cap 484.  Nor is any such question apparent to us from the matters she has raised.

7.  The Notice of Motion failed to provide any particulars in the supposed errors in our judgment and it raises no ground that is reasonably arguable before the Court of Final Appeal.

8.  We also do not see any basis for granting leave on the “otherwise” limb under section 22(1)(b).

9.  For these reasons, the Notice of Motion dated 8 November 2023 is dismissed.