NGUYEN DUC THINH V. TORTURE CLAIMS APPEAL BOARD / NON-REFOULEMENT CLAIMS PETITION OFFICE

[2025] HKCA 559 Court of Appeal 18 June 2025 • CACV263/2024 • 6 min read

2 cases cited (0 HK, 2 foreign) Cited by 1 case

Outcome

Appeal dismissed

The appeal is dismissed accordingly.

Source: [2025] HKCA 559, Court of Appeal, decided 18 June 2025. Read directly from the judgment.

Judges (2)

G Lam Coram Kwan Coram

Parties (3)

Director of Immigration Putative Interested Party Torture Claims Appeal Board / Non-Refoulement Claims Petition Office Putative Respondent Nguyen Duc Thinh Applicant

Case Significance

In Nguyen Duc Thinh v Torture Claims Appeal Board / Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office [2025] HKCA 559, the Court of Appeal dealt with a challenge raised under the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, including section 8, and the Immigration Ordinance. The appeal followed the first-instance ruling in Nguyen Duc Thinh v Torture Claims Appeal Board / Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office [2024] HKCFI 1709, with the Court of Appeal also referring to its earlier ruling in [2018] HKCA 524. The court held: "The appeal is dismissed accordingly." The decision was later cited in the same litigant's subsequent proceedings, Nguyen Duc Thinh v Torture Claims Appeal Board / Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office [2026] HKCA 384.

Summary

Vietnamese applicant Nguyen Duc Thinh appealed the refusal of leave for judicial review of the Torture Claims Appeal Board's decision dismissing his non-refoulement claim. The CFI (Deputy High Court Judge K W Lung) had refused leave in June 2024. The Court of Appeal (Kwan VP and G Lam JA) dismissed the appeal, with the applicant acting in person.

What did the Court of Appeal decide in Nguyen Duc Thinh v Torture Claims Appeal Board / Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office [2025] HKCA 559?

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding "The appeal is dismissed accordingly." The claim was brought under the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance and the Immigration Ordinance, following the first-instance decision in [2024] HKCFI 1709.