Migration Jurisprudence from the South › Hong Kong

C v. Director of Immigration

Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong · Hong Kong · 2013-03-25 · National court

Citation: [2013] HKCFA 21
Type of case: Administrative
Outcome: Decided for the migrant side

Question

Must Hong Kong itself check whether a person faces persecution before removing them?

What the court decided

Yes. The Director must make an independent, fair assessment of persecution claims and cannot simply rely on the UNHCR’s view.

In plain language

Hong Kong had left refugee claims to the UN refugee agency. The top court said the government must judge the risk itself before sending anyone away.

Dalam bahasa sederhana

Hong Kong menyerahkan klaim pengungsi kepada badan pengungsi PBB. Pengadilan tertinggi menyatakan pemerintah harus menilai sendiri risikonya sebelum mengeluarkan siapa pun.

Pertanyaan: Wajibkah Hong Kong sendiri memeriksa apakah seseorang terancam penganiayaan sebelum mengeluarkannya?

What happened afterwards

2013-03-25: Judgment.
2014-03: Unified Screening Mechanism begins.

Sources

Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).

Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/hk-c-2013/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.

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