Organisation Chart of the Removal Assessment and Litigation Branch
Since the implementation of the updated removal policy till the end of 2023, the department removed a total of 1,851 claimants from Hong Kong. The number of removals in 2023 increased substantially by 63 per cent when compared with the figure in 2022.
With the assistance of an interpreter, a case officer is conducting a screening interview with a non-refoulement claimant in the presence of a legal representative.
The Removal Assessment and Litigation Branch, established in June 2016, oversees the Removal Assessment and Litigation Division. The branch and its division are under the command of an Assistant Director and a Principal Immigration Officer respectively.
The Removal Assessment and Litigation Division is responsible for screening claims for non-refoulement protection on all applicable grounds1 lodged by persons not having the right to enter and remain in Hong Kong. The division also provides support for the government's comprehensive review of the strategy for handling non-refoulement claims, handles appeal/petition and litigation cases relating to non-refoulement claims and enforcement, and formulates and implements measures in respect of deportation and removal of unsubstantiated non-refoulement claimants.
All case officers responsible for screening non-refoulement claims are required to attend professional training courses before assuming their duties, including seminars given by representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Department of Justice, medical experts from the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority, and experience sharing by case officers, etc.
Illegal immigrants, overstayers or persons refused entry by the department upon arrival in Hong Kong do not have legal status to remain in Hong Kong. For effective immigration control and public interest, such persons should be removed from Hong Kong in accordance with the Immigration Ordinance as soon as practicable.
Pursuant to a number of court rulings, if a person to be repatriated to another country claims that he would face risks of torture, violation of his absolute and non-derogable rights under the Hong Kong Bill of Rights (HKBOR), or persecution if so repatriated, the department must withhold the claimant's repatriation to that country until his claim is finally determined as unsubstantiated through procedures meeting 'high standards of fairness'.
To fulfil its obligations under the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the HKBOR and the Immigration Ordinance, and to execute the relevant court rulings, the government introduced the Unified Screening Mechanism (USM) in March 2014 to determine non-refoulement claims on all applicable grounds. The USM is implemented in accordance with the statutory procedures under Part VIIC of the Immigration Ordinance, which were passed into law by the Legislative Council in July 2012 following its detailed scrutiny and came into effect in December 2012.
Under the USM, claimants are provided with reasonable opportunities to establish their claims, including stating relevant details on a non-refoulement claim form and attending a screening interview. After assessment, the department will inform the claimants of its decision and reasons in writing. Claimants aggrieved by the department's decision may lodge an appeal with the statutory and independent Torture Claims Appeal Board/Non-refoulement Claims Petition Office (Appeal Board).
Throughout the screening process, claimants are also provided with all necessary professional assistance, including publicly-funded legal assistance (PFLA), interpretation/translation services provided by qualified persons, and medical examination if the alleged physical or mental condition of a claimant is in dispute and relevant to the claim.
At the initial stage of implementation of the USM, in view of the significant rise in claims lodged through illegal entry, overstaying and being refused permission to land at control points, the government commenced in early 2016 a comprehensive review of the strategy for handling non-refoulement claims, and has implemented a series of measures to tackle the issue, including, first and foremost, preventing non-ethnic Chinese illegal immigrants and potential abusers of the non-refoulement claim mechanism from entering Hong Kong; expediting the screening of pending claims, processing of appeals lodged by unsubstantiated claimants and their removal from Hong Kong, and stepping up enforcement against unlawful employment. In addition, the Immigration Ordinance was amended in 2021 to further enhance screening efficiency, prevent delaying tactics deployed by claimants, improve the procedures and functions of the Appeal Board, and step up the interception at source, law enforcement, removal and detention of claimants, etc.
Notwithstanding the positive outcomes achieved through the above measures, there remain many challenges ahead in tackling the issue of handling non-refoulement claims. As at the end of 2023, there were around 15,200 claimants remaining in Hong Kong for different reasons. To ease the burden on society brought by the continued presence of a large number of non-refoulement claimants, the government will implement measures, including intercepting illegal immigrants at source, strengthening the handling of non-refoulement claims and expediting the removal of unsubstantiated claimants from Hong Kong.
The department will continue to follow up on the implementation of the above measures to ensure smooth operation of the USM, efficient screening of outstanding claims, effective support to the handling of appeals and relevant litigations, optimised use of detention space as well as continued full implementation of the updated removal policy, so as to remove unsubstantiated claimants from Hong Kong as soon as practicable.
The department hires in-house translators and interpreters mainly to provide interpretation support for claimants during briefing sessions and screening interviews, and to translate documents submitted by claimants.
Removees being escorted by officers of the department to proceed from place of detention to the airport.
The department had established a database on information such as localities, reports of topical issues and details of major events of the source countries of claimants to facilitate the screening of claims.
To enhance the workflow, the department had introduced various measures within the existing legal framework, which included advanced scheduling of screening interviews, building an objective, credible and timely updated database on relevant source countries to enhance the capability and efficiency of handling cases, and deploying dedicated officers to handle claims involving claimants from the same country so as to expedite the screening of claims. Since the implementation of the USM in March 2014 to the end of 2023, the department received a further 24,940 claims in addition to the 6,699 claims pending screening at the beginning. During this period, we determined 23,617 claims, including 305 substantiated claims (among which 215 claims were substantiated at the appeal stage), together with 7,182 claims withdrawn. The current number of claims pending screening stands at 840.
With the amendment of the Immigration Ordinance in 2021, the department is equipped with more tools to ensure that the screening procedures are efficiently conducted and to prevent delaying tactics deployed by some claimants. The department will continue to maintain high efficiency in the screening procedures and aim to commence screening as soon as a new claim is received.
The government had implemented the 'Pilot Scheme for Provision of Publicly-funded Legal Assistance for Non-refoulement Claimants' since September 2017, running in parallel with the 'Legal Assistance Scheme for Non-refoulement Claimants' provided by the Duty Lawyer Service. The government would timely adjust the capacity for handling PFLA cases according to the number of non-refoulement claims received. As at the end of December 2023, the ceiling of the PFLA quota was 13 cases per day.
To better support the screening process, the department provides interpretation service to claimants throughout the screening process. The department hires in-house translators and interpreters mainly to provide interpretation support for claimants during briefing sessions and screening interviews, and to translate documents submitted by claimants. In addition, the department would hire, on a case basis, part-time non-government interpreters where necessary.
The department has all along been committed to removing unsubstantiated non-refoulement claimants from Hong Kong as soon as practicable in accordance with relevant prevailing laws and policy so as to maintain effective immigration control and to safeguard public interest.
Under the updated removal policy that came into effect on 7 December 2022, the department will proceed with the removal proceedings against unsubstantiated claimants if their judicial reviews or relevant leave applications pertaining to their non-refoulement claims are dismissed by the Court of First Instance (CFI) of the High Court, irrespective of whether there are outstanding court proceedings (including appeals lodged to the higher courts against the decisions of the CFI) in respect of the claimants. Since the implementation of the policy till the end of 2023, the department removed a total of 1,851 claimants from Hong Kong, including 215 of them were removed under the updated removal policy. The number of removals in 2023 increased substantially by 63 per cent when compared with the figure in 2022.
The department will continue to maintain close liaison with relevant stakeholders including the consulates concerned and airline companies, and arrange special flights for large-scale removal operations when necessary and as the circumstances permit. Since November 2022, the department has deployed, taken into account the circumstances, officers to conduct a total of 24 removal operations through in-flight escort of unsubstantiated claimants who were uncooperative and refused to be removed, in order to implement forced repatriation and combat their delaying tactics. The department will continue to fully implement the updated removal policy so as to enhance its efficiency and strength in removing unsubstantiated claimants.
A rejected claimant may lodge an appeal, which would be considered by the Appeal Board.
There are designated sections under the Removal Assessment and Litigation Branch responsible for providing support to the Appeal Board to handle the appeals lodged by the claimants and related judicial reviews, as well as litigation cases relating to detention, removal and deportation.