Case Detail

HCAL 2052/2024

[2026] HKCFI 2155

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW LIST

NO 2052 OF 2024

____________

BETWEEN
	Doan Van Thuan	Applicant
	and
	Torture Claims Appeal Board	Putative
		Respondent
	and
	Director of Immigration	Putative
		Interested Party

____________

Before:

Deputy High Court Judge Michael WONG in Chambers (Open to Public)

Date of Hearing:	10 April 2026
Date of Handing Down of Decision:	22 April 2026

______________

D E C I S I O N

______________

Background

1. By way of summons filed on 3 February 2026 (“the Summons”), the applicant applies for an extension of time to appeal against my order made on 11 November 2025, which dismissed the applicant’s application for leave to apply for judicial review in respect of the decision of the Torture Claims Appeal Board dated 30 October 2024.

2. Order 53, rule 3(4) of the Rules of the High Court, Cap 4A, stipulates that “Where an application for leave is refused by a judge …, the applicant may appeal against the judge’s order to the Court of Appeal within 14 days after such order”.

3. In Re Li Jing [2015] 2 HKLRD 933, it was held that the time for lodging an appeal against the refusal of granting leave to apply for judicial review started to run from the date of the making of the order, not from the date when the sealed order was issued, nor from the date when the sealed order was mailed, and no account should be taken of the fact that the applicant received the sealed order late (see also Re Gurung Min Bahadur[2018] HKCA 226).

4. As my order was made on 11 November 2025, the last day for the applicant to lodge an appeal was on 25 November 2025. Thus, the time for appealing against my order has expired, and the applicant requires leave from this court to appeal out of time.

The applicable law

5. In considering whether to extend time for appealing a decision refusing leave to apply for judicial review, the court will take into account: (1) the length of delay; (2) the reasons for the delay; (3) the prospect of the intended appeal; and (4) the prejudice to the respondent if an extension of time were granted (see Jagg Singh v Torture Claims Appeal Board and another[2020] HKCA 844).

6. However, the crucial consideration in such an application is whether the applicant can show that there is a reasonable prospect of success in the intended judicial review (see Re Gurung Min Bahadur, supra), and the court will not grant extension for a hopeless appeal to be pursued (see Re Adumekwe Rowland Ejike[2019] HKCA 702).

Discussion

7. In the Summons, the applicant did not give any reason as to why he was late in lodging the appeal. There was also no ground given for his intended appeal in the Summons.

8. In his supporting affirmation dated 3 February 2026, the applicant merely mentioned that he thought he could solve his problems in Vietnam and hence he withdrew the application for judicial review. However, his plans were not going as expected and he could not resolve his problem. Hence, he still faced the risk of being tortured or killed if he returned to Vietnam, and he could not go back to Vietnam.

9. It is clear that the applicant did not provide any reason for his lateness in lodging the intended appeal, nor any valid ground of appeal in his supporting affirmation either. His withdrawal application was in fact refused by me and I had considered the merits of his application for leave to apply for judicial review in my decision on 11 November 2025. Thus, what the applicant mentioned in his supporting affirmation have no relevancy at all.

10. The applicant was absent at the hearing of the Summons on 10 April 2026. Hence, he did not provide any further information in support of his application for leave to appeal out of time.

11. For this application to be successful, the applicant must demonstrate that this court had made errors of law or failed to take account of relevant matters already placed before this court or was otherwise plainly wrong (see Nupur Mst v Director of Immigration [2018] HKCA 524).

12. The applicant failed to demonstrate any of the above. Hence, there is simply no valid ground for the intended appeal or the intended judicial review.

13. In the circumstances, there is no proper excuse for the applicant’s delay in lodging the appeal and there is no reasonable prospect of success in the intended judicial review. I am not prepared to grant any extension of time for the applicant to pursue such a hopeless appeal.

Conclusion

14. For reasons aforesaid, the Summons is dismissed.

(Michael WONG)
Deputy High Court Judge

The applicant being absent

HCAL 2052/2024

[2025] HKCFI 5296

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW LIST NO 2052 OF 2024

BETWEEN
	Doan Van Thuan	Applicant
	and
	Torture Claims Appeal Board	Putative
		Respondent
	and
	Director of Immigration	Putative
		Interested Party

Application for leave to apply for judicial review

NOTIFICATION of the Judge’s decision (Order 53, rule 3)

Following:

consideration of the documents only; or
consideration of the documents and oral submissions by the applicant or counsel in open court;

Order by Deputy High Court Judge Michael WONG:

1.  On this court’s own motion, the name of the putative respondent be amended to “Torture Claims Appeal Board” and “Director of Immigration” be added as the putative interested party.
2.  The applicant’s application to withdraw the application for leave to apply for judicial review be refused.
3.  The applicant’s application for leave to apply for judicial review be dismissed.

Observations for the applicant:

The Leave Application

1. By way of Form 86 dated and filed on 7 November 2024, the applicant applied for leave to apply for judicial review (“the Leave Application”) in respect of the decision of the Torture Claims Appeal Board (“the Board”) dated 30 October 2024 (“the Board’s Decision”). The Board’s Decision can be viewed in the following hyperlink:-

https://legalref.judiciary.hk/doc/judg/html/vetted/other/en/2024/HCAL002052_2024_files/the_Board's_Decision.pdf

2. The Board found that the applicant’s application for non-refoulement protection failed on all the applicable grounds under the Unified Screening Mechanism (“the USM”). Hence, the Board dismissed the applicant’s appeal/petition and confirmed the decision of the Director of Immigration (“the Director”) dated 26 July 2024.

Amendments

3. In Form 86, the applicant named the Board / Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office as well as the Director as the putative respondents, when only the Board should be the putative respondent.

4. The Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office is just an office providing administrative and secretariat support to the adjudicators of the Board and should not be named as a party at all.

5. The Director should not be one of the putative respondents but the putative interested party.

6. Thus, on this court’s own motion, the name of the putative respondent is amended to “Torture Claims Appeal Board” and “Director of Immigration” is added as the putative interested party.

The applicant’s case

7. It is not necessary for this court to repeat the details of the applicant’s case here as the same were set out in the Board’s Decision, which can be viewed in the hyperlink above.

8. In sum, the applicant claimed for non-refoulement protection because if refouled to Vietnam, he would be killed by his creditor.

Withdrawal of the Leave Application

9. By way of a letter dated 25 July 2025 addressed to the Registrar, High Court, together with an affirmation of the same date, the applicant applied to withdraw the Leave Application and confirmed that it would be safe for him to return to his country.

10. There is no evidence to show that the applicant made the above withdrawal application other than out of his own volition. With the withdrawal application, it is clear that the applicant no longer wishes to proceed with the Leave Application or any oral hearing for the Leave Application. It is therefore not necessary for this court to afford him any oral hearing for the Leave Application even though he had requested one before.

11. However, the Court of Appeal had held in Re Manik Md Mahamudun Nabi[2022] HKCA 471 that:-

“The applicant on his own motion applied to the Court to withdraw his application for leave to apply for judicial review. The Judge acceded to his application, whereupon there was nothing outstanding in the action. The Judge was correct to conclude the action by ordering a dismissal of the application instead of leaving the action at large.”

12. Thus, it is just not right to leave the action at large by granting leave to withdraw to the applicant. This court will proceed to determine the merits of the Leave Application.

Grounds for judicial review

13. The applicant is required to identify clearly the grounds for the intended judicial review (see Ho Loy & Another v Director of Environmental Protection, HCAL 21 of 2015, dated 22.12.2016).

14. The applicant attached a document to his Form 86 and asserted 6 grounds for his intended judicial review. Many other applicants in similar applications had in fact used the contents of this document as their grounds and it is like a template for them.

Discussion

15. All the 6 grounds listed in the document attached to the applicant’s Form 86 were very general and without any particulars related to the applicant’s own case. Some of them were directed at the Director and hence irrelevant to his challenge on the Board’s Decision. Others were directed at the adjudicator of the Board, but they only contained general allegations.

16. The Court of Appeal has repeatedly held that general assertions without particulars cannot be effective grounds to support a judicial review (see Re Mizan Sikder[2019] HKCA 20; Re Aziz Nasir[2019] HKCA 578; and Re Kharsu Numan[2019] HKCA 626). Further, as held by the Court of Appeal in Re Salim Ahmed alias MD Salim[2020] HKCA 244, “general assertions or propositions of law cannot assist an appellant when he fails to condescend to the requisite particulars related to the facts of his case”.

17. Thus, none of the grounds that were contained in the said document could establish any valid ground to challenge the Board’s Decision when they are so vague and general without any requisite particulars related to the applicant’s case.

18. The role of the court in judicial review is not to re-assess the non-refoulement claims afresh. The primary decision-makers in a claim for non-refoulement are the Director and the Board. They alone assess the evidence and find facts including those relating to the matters allegedly giving rise to the non-refoulement claim, risk of harm, availability of state protection and viability of internal relocation. The court will scrutinize the Board’s decision and intervene by way of judicial review only for errors of law, procedural unfairness, or irrationality (see Nupur Mst v Director of Immigration[2018] HKCA 524).

19. Thus, despite the fact that the applicant did not advance any valid ground for the intended judicial review, this court will scrutinize the Board’s Decision for any errors of law, procedural unfairness or irrationality.

20. The applicant was afforded an oral hearing before the Board on 23 September 2024 and the applicant was present. Thus, the applicant did have the opportunity to present his case to the Board in person.

21. The Board found that the applicant’s story was internally consistent as to the loan collection incidents from the creditor, but did not accept that the Vietnamese police would not take actions to assist the applicant if he reported the case to the police officers in other police stations in the commune or to the higher authorities. The Board found that the applicant’s problem was purely a private matter relating to the dispute with the creditor on outstanding loan repayment. After considering various country of origin information (“COI”), the Board concluded that reasonable state protection was available to the applicant.

22. Although the Board did not consider internal relocation, it is a well-recognised principle that the decision-maker only needs to consider internal relocation if the applicant has established that he qualifies as a refugee pursuant to Article 1A(2) of the Refugee Convention (see Robinson v SSHD & Anor [1997] EWCA Civ 3090, dated 11.7.1997). Hence, it was unnecessary for the Board to consider the viability of internal relocation for the applicant.

23. Nevertheless, the Board considered each of the applicable grounds under the USM separately and found that the applicant failed to establish any of them.

24. The assessment of evidence, COI and risk of harm was primarily within the realm of the Board. The Board was entitled to make its own decision. This court finds nothing wrong or unreasonable in the way the Board reached its decision.

25. Having rigorously examined the Board’s Decision and the evidence with anxious scrutiny, this court is satisfied that the Board had correctly set out the law and key legal principles relating to the applicable grounds under the USM, the burden of proof and the standard of proof. The Board also correctly identified the issues and observed a very high standard of fairness. This court could detect no errors of law, procedural unfairness or irrationality in the Board’s Decision. The Board’s Decision does satisfy the enhanced Wednesbury test, ie it is not Wednesbury unreasonable or irrational for the Board to reach its decision.

26. Thus, there is no merits in the Leave Application at all.

27. Moreover, as the applicant had confirmed that it would be safe for him to return to his home country, it is clear that he no longer needs non-refoulement protection and the Leave Application serves no practical purpose.

28. It is well established that the court may exercise discretion not to grant a remedy on judicial review if it would serve no practical purpose, where it may have become otiose or pointless to grant a remedy because the relevant detriment to the applicant has been removed (see AW v Director of Immigration and William Lam, CACV 63 of 2015).

29. Even assuming that there were errors of law, procedural unfairness, or irrationality in the Board’s Decision and the case were remitted to the Board for reconsideration, there would simply be no more basis for the applicant to claim non-refoulement protection as it was no longer unsafe for him to return to his own country. The Board should assess the risk of the applicant at the time of the proceedings, taking account of information that has come to light to ensure that it is able to make a “full and up-to-date assessment” of the current situation (see Ubamaka Edward Wilson v Secretary for Security and Another (2012) 15 HKCFAR 743).

30. It is therefore otiose and pointless to grant leave to the applicant to proceed with the intended judicial review.

31. As held by the Court of Final Appeal in Po Fun Chan v Winnie Cheung (2007) 10 HKCFAR 676, for the court to grant leave to apply for judicial review, the claim has to be a reasonably arguable claim which enjoys realistic prospects of success. It is the view of this court that the intended judicial review has no realistic prospects of success at all, and hence the Leave Application must be dismissed.

Conclusion

32. For reasons aforesaid, the application to withdraw the Leave Application is refused and the Leave Application is dismissed.

Dated the 11^th day of November 2025

(Irene LEE)
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

Notes for the applicant: If leave has been granted, the applicant or his solicitors must:
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)).		Sent/Handed to the applicant/the applicant’s solicitors on: 11 November 2025 Applicant’s ref. no: Nil		Sent/Handed 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: 11 November 2025 Torture Claims Appeal Board/Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office Putative respondent’s ref. no.: USM 24241 Director of Immigration Putative interested party’s ref. no.: QA T/C 1617/24 (Formerly as RBCZ/5001249/24) Department of Justice, Senior Assistant Law Officer (Civil Law) (Civil Litigation Unit 2)

Form CALL-1

DOAN VAN THUAN v. TORTURE CLAIMS APPEAL BOARD [Decision on Leave Application]

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	consideration of the documents only; or
	consideration of the documents and oral submissions by the applicant or counsel in open court;