ENG-1997 — Page 73

THE LEGAL SYSTEM

merits test). Legal assistance is provided either with or without payment of a contribution. Upon the granting of legal aid, the cases are assigned either to a lawyer in private practice or in the department's Litigation Division.

Legal Aid in Civil Cases

Legal aid is available for representation in proceedings for most types of civil cases heard in District Court, the Court of First Instance of the High Court, the Court of Appeal of the High Court and the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. It is also available for applications to the Mental Health Review Tribunal and in certain landlord and tenant matters in the Lands Tribunal.

Apart from financial eligibility, an applicant must satisfy the Director of Legal Aid that he has reasonable grounds for pursuing or defending a civil legal action. Legal aid is available for a wide range of civil proceedings, including matrimonial cases, traffic accident claims, landlord and tenant disputes, claims in respect of industrial accidents, employees' compensation, immigration matters, breach of contract and professional negligence.

Admiralty, bankruptcy and companies winding-up proceedings are also undertaken by the Legal Aid Department. Most of these cases are related to employees' wages and severance pay.

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 committee of review. The department's total expenditure for 1997 was $297 million in civil cases. During the year, 27 440 applications were received, and 15 072 were granted legal aid. Altogether, $845 million was recovered for the aided persons.

Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme

The Director of Legal Aid also operates the Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme, which provides legal assistance to persons whose resources exceed the financial limits under the standard legal aid scheme but are not sufficient to meet the high costs of conducting litigation on a private basis. The scheme is self-financing, funded by contributions from damages or compensation recovered. The scheme is available for personal injuries and professional negligence claims in the High Court, the Court of Appeal and certain claims in the District Court for employees' compensation. Total expenditure on the scheme in 1997 was $10 million, 260 applications were received, and 179 were granted legal aid.

Legal Aid in Criminal Cases

In criminal cases, legal aid is available for representation in proceedings in the Court of First Instance of the High Court and District Court, in the Magistrates' Courts (where the prosecution is seeking the committal of a defendant to the Court of First Instance of the High Court), in appeals from the Magistrates' Courts, and in appeals to the Court of Appeal and to the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.

For appeals against conviction for cases involving murder, treason or piracy with violence, subject to financial eligibility, the granting of legal aid is mandatory to ensure that all relevant matters are placed before the court by the appellant's legal representative. For all other criminal appeals, legal aid will be given, subject to financial eligibility, if the Director of Legal Aid is satisfied that there are arguable grounds of appeal.

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