RE NGUYEN DINH TUONG

CACV 157/2025, [2025] HKCA 837

On appeal from [2025] HKCFI 1043

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF APPEAL

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 157 OF 2025

(ON AN APPEAL FROM HCAL NO. 3889 OF 2019)

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J U D G M E N T

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Hon Chu VP (giving the Judgment of the Court):

1.  On 16 May 2025, this court handed down a judgment ([2025] HKCA 425)  dismissing the applicant’s appeal against the decision of Deputy High Court Judge Michael Wong given on 18 March 2025 dismissing his application for leave to apply for judicial review.

2.  On 10 June 2025, the applicant filed a Notice of Motion together with an affirmation to apply for leave to appeal this court’s judgment to the Court of Final Appeal.  Despite directions given by the Court, he has not lodged any written submission to support the application.

3.  Having considered the Notice of Motion and affirmation, we see no reason to depart from the usual practice of determining applications for leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal on paper without an oral hearing.  We have therefore proceeded to determine the applicant’s application on the basis of the documents in the case.

4.  The background to this case and the applicant’s claim have been set out in our judgment.  We will not repeat them.

5.  Section 22(1)(b)  of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance, Cap. 484 provides that leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal may be granted if the question involved in the appeal is one which, by reason of its great general or public importance, or otherwise, ought to be submitted to the Court of Final Appeal for decision.

6.  The grounds for the application set out in the Notice of Motion are the same as the grounds of appeal in the Notice of Appeal: see a summary at [10] of our judgment.

7.  The affirmation filed on 10 June 2025 is the same as the one filed on 26 March 2025 in support of the appeal, which we had refused to take into account as there was no permission for the applicant to file new evidence in the appeal: see [11] of our Judgement.  For the same reason, we will not consider the affirmation filed on 10 June 2025.

8.  We are of the view that the grounds in the Notice of Appeal do not constitute viable grounds for granting leave to appeal. Critically, all the grounds of application relate solely to the circumstances and facts of the applicant’s claim.  No question of great general and public importance has been identified, as required by section 22(1)(b)  of the Ordinance, has been identified.  Further, these grounds are unarguable for the reasons we gave in [13] of our judgment.

9.  We also do not see any basis for the “or otherwise” limb under section 22(1)(b). 

10.  As the statutory requirements for giving leave to appeal are not met, the Notice of Motion is dismissed.