Hong Kong Judgment

Court of Appeal

RE ILEAGU JOY EZINNE

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Source document

01

Holding and result

The Notice of Motion dated 14 June 2024 is dismissed because the applicant proffered no adequate explanation for an inordinate delay of about 1 year and 2 months and failed to identify any question of great general or public importance under section 22(1)(b) Cap 484 or any reasonably arguable ground of appeal; furthermore the applicant failed to comply with directions to file written submissions and is deemed to have abandoned reliance on them.

Court disposition

Notice of Motion dated 14 June 2024 dismissed.

Orders

  • Notice of Motion dated 14 June 2024 dismissed.

02

Material facts

Parties

Ileagu Joy Ezinne

Applicant

Amounts and remedies

  • Delay in Filing Notice of Motion (months): 14

03

Procedural history

  1. Posture

    Application for Leave to Appeal to the Court of Final Appeal and Application for Extension of Time / Court of Appeal Determination on Paper of Notice of Motion Seeking Leave to Appeal to Court of Final Appeal; Dismissal of Notice of Motion

04

Questions and positions

Legal issues

Party arguments

Applicant
Applicant filed a Notice of Motion dated 14 June 2024 seeking leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal stating only that she wanted "to go to the Court of Final Appeal"; she filed the Notice out of time and provided no explanation for the delay and lodged no written submissions.
Respondent
The court concluded that the delay of about 1 year and 2 months was inordinate and unexplained, the Notice of Motion contained no particulars or reasonably arguable grounds, did not identify any question of great general or public importance as required by section 22(1)(b) Cap 484, and the applicant breached directions by failing to lodge written submissions; accordingly the Notice of Motion must be dismissed.

05

Court’s reasoning

  1. 01

    Court of Final Appeal Ordinance, Cap 484 s22(1)(b)

    Leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal requires identification of a question of great general or public importance or otherwise exceptional circumstances.

  2. 02

    Practice and authority of the Court of Appeal (as applied in this judgment)

    Applications for extension of time must be supported by an adequate explanation for any inordinate delay; substantial unexplained delay justifies refusal.

  3. 03

    Court of Appeal practice and Registrar's directions (as applied in this judgment)

    Failure to comply with procedural directions to file written submissions may be treated as abandonment of reliance on written submissions and permits determination on the papers.

06

Ratio, limits and disposition

Ratio decidendi

The Notice of Motion dated 14 June 2024 is dismissed because the applicant proffered no adequate explanation for an inordinate delay of about 1 year and 2 months and failed to identify any question of great general or public importance under section 22(1)(b) Cap 484 or any reasonably arguable ground of appeal; furthermore the applicant failed to comply with directions to file written submissions and is deemed to have abandoned reliance on them.

Obiter and limits

  • The court will determine applications of this kind on the papers where appropriate.
  • Non-compliance with Registrar's directions may result in the applicant being deemed to have abandoned reliance on written submissions.

Court disposition

Notice of Motion dated 14 June 2024 dismissed.

  • Notice of Motion dated 14 June 2024 dismissed.

Source and reliance status

Court of Appeal · 20 April 2026

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Judgment reading view

Judgment text

The complete available source text.

Source document

Court of Appeal

Judgment· 20 April 2026

[2026] HKCA 706

CAMP 262/2022, [2026] HKCA 706 On appeal from [2021] HKCFI 1110

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF APPEAL MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS NO 262 OF 2022 (ON AN INTENDED APPEAL FROM HCAL 850/ 2018) ----------------------------------- RE:

ILEAGU JOY EZINNE Applicant ----------------------------------- Before: Hon Kwan VP and Barma JA in Court Date of Judgment: 20 April 2026 _______

J U D G M E N T _______ Hon Barma JA (giving the Judgment of the Court): On 8 March 2023, this court (Kwan VP and Barma JA) handed down a judgment dismissing the applicant’s application for extension of time to appeal against the decision of DHCJ Bruno Chan dated 23 April 2021 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/adjudicator of the Non-Refoulement Claims Petition Office dismissing the appeal against the decision of the Director of Immigration rejecting the applicant’s non-refoulement claim. 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. We will not repeat them here. The applicant subsequently applied, by a Notice of Motion filed out of time on 14 June 2024, for leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal. In the Notice of Motion, the applicant merely stated that she wanted “to go to the Court of Final Appeal”. In breach of the directions made by the Registrar of Civil Appeals, the applicant failed to lodge any written submissions. Accordingly, she is deemed to have abandoned the right to rely on written submissions in the present application. Having considered the applicant’s Notice of Motion, 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. The applicant has proffered no explanation for the inordinate delay in filing her Notice of Motion. The delay of around 1 year and 2 months is substantial, and thus the Notice of Motion is liable to be dismissed on this basis alone. We have however nonetheless proceeded to consider the merits of the application. 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. 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. We also do not see any basis for granting leave on the “otherwise” limb under section 22(1)(b). For these reasons, the Notice of Motion dated 14 June 2024 is dismissed. (Susan Kwan) (Aarif Barma) Vice-President Justice of Appeal The applicant acting in person

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Authorities

Authorities used by the court

Cases, legislation, regulations, and constitutional provisions identified in the available record.

[2026] HKCA 706

Case cited

[2021] HKCFI 1110

Case cited

HCAL 850/2018

Case cited

Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance, Cap 484 s22(1)(b)

Legislation

Legislation referenced in the available case record.

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