1975-HKRS28-16-23_Part04 — Page 49

Establishmen firibat

Appointment of adjudicBors.

(Cap. 11.)

Jurisdiction of

the albumail. Fir Schedule.

"defendant" means a person against whom a claim is made by a claimant

other than

(2) a claimant against whom relief is sought by way of counterclaim:

and

(6) a person who is being represented in a representative claim; "party" means a claimant or defendant and any person joined as a third

party;

"registrar" means the Registrar of the District Court;

"representative claim" means a claire brought in the name of one claimant

on behalf of himself and one or more other claimants: "tribunal" means the Small Claims Tribunal established by section 3.

PART I

CONSTITUTION OF Tribunal

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3. (1) There is hereby established a tribunal to be known as the Small Claims Tribunal and to be known in the Chinese language AJ

(2) The tribunal, which shall consist of such adjudicators as may be appointed under section 4, shall be a court of record with such jurisdiction and powers as are conferred on it by this or any other Ordinance.

(3) All proceedings in the tribunal shall be heard and determined by an adjudicator silting ålone.

(4) The tribunal shall have a seal of a design approved by the Chief Justice, and all awards, orders, summonses, and other processes of the tribunal shall be sealed therewith.

4 (!) The Governor chall appoint such number of adjudicators as he considers necessary,

(2) No person shall be appointed to be an adjudicator unless he is qualified to practise as a barrister, solicitor or advocate in a court is Hong Kong, England, Scotland, Northern Iceland, or some other part of the Commonwealth, or the Republic of Ireland, having unlimited jurisdie- tion either in civil or criminal matters

".

(3) An adjudicator shall be known in the Chinese language as 【套蛾

(4) Subject to subsection (3), an appointment made under subsection (1) may be given retrospective effect.

(5) No person appointed as an adjudicator shall discharge any judicial function before the date of the instrument by which he is appointed or before the requirements of scetion 17 of the Oaths and Declaratione Ordinance have been fulfilled.

PART 111

JURISDICTION

5. (3) The tribunal shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine the claims specified in the First Schedule.

3

(2) Save as provided in this Ordinance, no claim within the jurisdiction of the tribunal shall be actionable in any other court in Hong Kong.

(3) A claim within the jurisdiction of the tribunal may be brought in another court if there is included in such claim a claim for some other relief, redress or remedy, other than a claim for costs.

(4) Subject to the Limitation Ordinance, the jurisdiction of the tribunal (Cap. 347) shall extend to a claim which arose before the commencement of this Ordinance.

4 Schedule.

The Legislative Council may, by resolution, amend the First Power to amend

First Schedule.

7. The tribunal may at any stage of proceedings in the tribunal, either Trander of of its own motion or upon the application of any party, transfer the pro- GITAR, ceedings to the District Court or the Supreme Court, whereupon the practice and procedure of the District Court or the Supreme Court, as the case may be, shall apply.

8. No claim shall be split or divided and pursued in separate pro ceedings in the tribunal for the sole purpose of bringing the sum claimed in each of such proceedings within the jurisdiction of the tribunal.

9.

Division of use of

action.

park claim to

(1) Where a claimant has a claim for more than $3,000 which, if Abandonment it were not for more than 53,000, would be within the jurisdiction of the tribunal, the claimant may abandon the excess, and thereupon the tribunal shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine the claim, so, however, that The claimant shall not recover in the claim au amount exceeding $3,000.

(2) Where the tribunal has jurisdiction to hear and determine a claim by virtue of this section, the award of the tribunal on the claim shall be in full discharge of all demands in respect of the claim, and judgment shall be deemed to be entered accordingly.

vive tribuna Jurksdiction. 1954 & 22.

1. 49.

10. (1) Where any counterclaim or set-off and countercisim in pro- Juridiction a ceedings in the tribunal is a monetary claim which is not within the jurisdic to counterclsion. tion of the tribunal, the tribunal shall order that the proceedings on the counterclaim or sebolf and counterclaim be transferred to the District Court or the Supreme Court.

(2) Where an order is made under subsection (1) and judgment on the claim is given for the claimant, execution thereon shall, unless the tribunal otherwise orders, be stayed until the proceedings transferred to the Districl Court or the Supreme Court have been determined.

(3) Where a defendant has a counterclaim or set-off and counterclaim for more than $3,000 which, if it were not for more than $3,000, would be within the jurisdiction of the tribunal, the defendant may abandon the excess and thereupon the tribunal shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine the counterclaim or set-off and counterclaim, so, however, that the defendant shall not recover in the counterclaim or set-off and counter- claim an amount excccding $3,000.

(4) Where a tribunal has jurisdiction to hear and determine a counter- claim or set-off and counterclaim by virtue of this section, the award of the tribunal on the counterclaim or set-off and counterclaim shall be in full discharge of all demands in respect thereof, and judgment shall be deemed to be entered accordingly.

11. Where any proceedings on a claim or counterclaim or set-off and Come in counterclaim are transferred under section 7 or section 10 from the tribunal transferred to the District Court or the Supreme Court, the costs of the proceedings

casty,