THE LEGAL SYSTEM
Legal Aid Department
The Legal Aid Department provides legal aid services to any person in Hong Kong, resident or non-resident, who satisfies the criteria for legal aid. Legal aid services are funded by the Government. The provision for legal costs is not cash-limited; supplementary provision may be sought if necessary. This ensures that the grant of legal aid is not prejudiced by financial constraint.
Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme for Civil Cases
Ordinary legal aid is available for representation in civil proceedings in the Court of Final Appeal, Court of Appeal, Court of First Instance and District Court. It is also available for certain other matters such as tenancy matters under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance in the Lands Tribunal, applications to the Mental Health Review Tribunal and cases of great public concern in the Coroner's Court.
The range of civil proceedings covered includes family and matrimonial disputes, personal injury claims, employment disputes, tenancy disputes, contractual disputes, immigration matters and professional negligence claims. Admiralty, bankruptcy and company winding-up proceedings for the claim of arrears of wages and other employment related benefits are also undertaken.
Applicants must pass means and merits tests to qualify for legal aid. For the means test, the applicant must show that his financial resources, i.e. annual disposable income and total capital assets after deduction of certain statutory allowances, do not exceed $169,700. The Director of Legal Aid may waive the upper financial eligibility limit in meritorious cases involving the Hong Kong Bill of Rights or an inconsistency with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as applied to Hong Kong. For the merits test, the applicant must satisfy the Director of Legal Aid that he has reasonable grounds for bringing or defending the civil proceedings. Depending on the financial resources of the aided person and whether property has been recovered or preserved on his behalf, the aided person may be required to contribute towards the costs of the proceedings.
Upon the granting of legal aid, the aided person's case is assigned either to a lawyer in private practice or to a lawyer of the Legal Aid Department. The Director of Legal Aid has the responsibility to monitor the progress and expenditure of the cases assigned out. An applicant who is refused legal aid may appeal to the Registrar of the High Court, or in Court of Final Appeal cases, to a Review Committee. The decision in either event is final.
During the year, 20 620 applications for civil legal aid were received and 9 061 were granted. The Legal Aid Department's expenditure on civil cases was $405 million and $919 million was recovered for the aided persons.
Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme
This scheme provides legal assistance to applicants whose financial resources exceed the ceiling stipulated in the Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme but do not exceed $471,600. Under this scheme, legal aid is available to cases of personal injury and death and medical, dental and legal professional negligence, where the claim for damages is likely to exceed $60,000. The scheme also covers claims under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance irrespective of the amount of the claim.
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