MBOWETO UWESU MOHAMED v. TORTURE CLAIMS APPEAL BOARD / NON-REFOULEMENT CLAIMS PETITION OFFICE

HCAL 3865/2019

[2025] HKCFI 4396

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW LIST NO 3865 OF 2019

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D E C I S I O N

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1.  By my decision dated 16 April 2025, I refused to grant leave to the Applicant to apply for judicial review of the decision of the Torture Claims Appeal Board (the “TCAB”) dated 14 November 2019 which refused the Applicant’s non-refoulement protection claim.

2.  By a summons issued on 19 May 2025, the Applicant seeks extension of time to appeal against my above decision. As the 14-day appeal period under O.53, r.3(4) of the RHC expired on 30 April 2025, the Applicant is out of time in his intended appeal by 20 days.

3.  The applicable principles are trite: the court shall have regard to (i) the length of the delay; (ii) the reason for the delay; (iii) the prospect of the intended appeal; and (iv) the prejudice to the respondent if extension of time were granted (see Re Gurung Min Bahadur [2018] HKCA 226 and Re Saqlain Muhammad [2018] HKCA 346).

4.  The delay in the present case was not short and there is nothing by way of explanation in the Applicant’s affirmation filed in support of the present application.

5.  Further and more importantly, there is nothing in either the present summons or the supporting affirmation to indicate even an attempt to raise any proposed grounds of appeal, or any error in the decision he seeks to appeal against. When asked at the hearing on 1 September 2025, the Applicant did not add anything apart from alleging that it was still not safe for him to return to his home country of Tanzania. As such I fail to see any prospect of success in his intended appeal.

6.  In the premises, it would be pointless to extend the time for the Applicant’s intended appeal. I therefore dismiss the application.