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The Legal System

tribunals where legal representation is allowed. Legislation was enacted in 2010 to allow eligible solicitors to apply for higher rights of audience before the High Court and the Court of Final Appeal.

Lawyers practising within one branch of the profession are not, at the same time, allowed to practise within the other. As at 31 December 2014, Hong Kong has 8,279 practising solicitors and 836 local law firms, plus 79 foreign law firms and 1,402 registered foreign lawyers. Around 379 solicitors are also notaries public. The Law Society of Hong Kong is responsible for maintaining professional and ethical standards of solicitors and foreign lawyers who are practising in Hong Kong, and for handling complaints against them.

The Hong Kong Bar Association is the professional body that regulates the professional conduct of Hong Kong's 1,275 barristers as at 31 December 2014.

Legal Aid

Publicly funded legal aid services are provided through the Legal Aid Department and the Duty Lawyer Service. Legal aid ensures that a person who has reasonable grounds for taking or defending a legal action in the Hong Kong courts is not prevented from doing so because of a lack of means. Eligible applicants receive legal aid through the provision of the services of a solicitor and, if necessary, of a barrister.

Legal Aid Department

The Legal Aid Department provides legal aid services to any person, irrespective of residence or nationality, who satisfies the means and merits tests. It has about 530 staff, including 76 lawyers.

Legal Aid in Civil Cases

Legal aid under the Ordinary Scheme is available for civil proceedings in the District Court, Court of First Instance, Court of Appeal, 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.

An applicant must pass the means and merits tests to qualify for legal aid. For the means test, applicants must show that their financial resources (the aggregate of his annual disposable income and total disposable capital after deduction of a statutory allowance and certain deductible items) do not exceed $269,620. For applicants aged 60 or above, the first $269,620 will be disregarded when calculating the amount of disposable capital.

The Director of Legal Aid may waive the upper 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.

For the merits test, the applicant must satisfy the Director of Legal Aid that there are reasonable grounds for bringing or defending the civil proceedings.

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