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The Legal System
standards of solicitors and foreign lawyers practising locally, and handles complaints against them.
The Hong Kong Bar Association is the professional body that regulates the professional conduct of Hong Kong's 1,414 barristers.
Legal Aid
Publicly funded legal aid services are provided through the Legal Aid Department and the Duty Lawyer Service. Legal aid ensures a person who has reasonable grounds for taking or defending a legal action in Hong Kong courts is not prevented from doing so because of a lack of means. Eligible applicants are granted legal aid certificates and receive the services of a solicitor and, if necessary, of a barrister.
The department provides legal aid services to any person, irrespective of residence or nationality, who satisfies both the means and merits tests. It has about 540 staff, including 78 lawyers.
Legal Aid in Civil Cases
The department runs an Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme for civil proceedings in the District Court, Court of First Instance, Court of Appeal and Court of Final Appeal, applications to the Mental Health Review Tribunal, and death inquests if the interests of public justice so require. Major types of cases covered include family disputes, personal injury claims, employment disputes, disputes related to landed properties, contractual disputes, immigration matters and professional negligence claims.
The means test requires applicants to show their financial resources, the sum of the person's annual disposable income and total disposable capital after deducting a statutory allowance and certain deductible items, do not exceed $290,380. For applicants aged 60 or above, the test disregards the first $290,380 when calculating the disposable capital.
The Director of Legal Aid may waive the statutory financial eligibility limit in meritorious cases where a breach of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance or an inconsistency with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as applied to Hong Kong is an issue.
The merits test requires applicants to satisfy the director that there are reasonable grounds for bringing or defending the civil proceedings.
Aided persons may have to pay a contribution, depending on their financial resources, and are required to repay all the expenses incurred in the proceedings that are not recovered from the opposite party out of the property recovered or preserved on their behalf in the proceedings.
An applicant who is refused civil legal aid may appeal to the Registrar of the High Court or, in Court of Final Appeal cases, to a Review Committee chaired by the Registrar of the High Court. and also including a barrister and a solicitor.
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