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The Legal System

The Law Reform Commission

The commission considers and reports on those topics referred to it by the Secretary for Justice or the Chief Justice. Its membership includes judges, academics, practising lawyers and prominent community members. Since its establishment in 1980, the commission has published 65 reports covering subjects as diverse as commercial arbitration, description of flats on sale, guardianship and custody, hearsay, privacy, class actions and charities. Subjects now under the commission's consideration include sexual offences, archives law, access to information, causing or allowing the death of a child and periodical payments for future pecuniary loss in personal injury cases.

Director of Intellectual Property

The office of the Director of Intellectual Property, established under the Director of Intellectual Property (Establishment) Ordinance (Cap 412), runs the Intellectual Property Department, which operates the trade marks, patents, designs and copyright licensing bodies registries. With regard to intellectual property, the department makes recommendations on policy and legislation, provides civil legal advice to the government, and promotes public awareness of and respect for intellectual property rights. It also facilitates and promotes Hong Kong's development as a premier intellectual property trading hub in the region.

Equal Opportunities Commission

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is an independent statutory body that implements anti-discrimination legislation. There are four anti-discrimination ordinances: the Sex Discrimination Ordinance, Disability Discrimination Ordinance, Family Status Discrimination Ordinance and Race Discrimination Ordinance. The EOC's functions include working towards the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability, family status and race, and towards the elimination of sexual harassment, and harassment and vilification on the grounds of disability and race.

In 2016, the EOC received 3,900 enquiries and 601 complaints relating to the four ordinances. A total of 148 complaint cases were successfully conciliated.

Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data is an independent statutory body established under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance to monitor, supervise and promote compliance with the ordinance.

In 2016, the office received 1,838 complaints, 16,180 enquiries and 26 matching procedure consent applications; conducted 259 compliance checks and four self-initiated investigations; and published one guidance note.

The office organised 255 talks, seminars and workshops for the public and various industries to promote awareness and understanding of personal data privacy, including 46 professional workshops for data users. It also jointly organised a Symposium on Data Protection Law

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