Full Report
Table of Contents
Abbreviations
List of Appendices
Executive Summary
Paras
FINAL REPORT
Section 1: Introduction
§  
1
1.1 Terms of reference
§  
2
1.2 Membership of Working Party
§  
3 - 6
1.3 The Interim Report and Consultative Paper
§  
7 - 8
1.4 The object of this Final Report
§  
9
Section 2: A new code or selective amendment
§  
10
-
12
2.1 The consultation response
2.2 The Working Party's view
§  
13
-
21
(a) The anticipated benefits of an entirely new code
§  
22
-
24
(b) An entirely new code would mean more disruption
§  
25
-
36
(c) The Working Party's approach
§  
37 - 38
Section 3: Procedural reform and the Basic Law
§  
39
-
45
3.1 The constitutional provisions and international counterparts
§  
46 - 47
3.2 The focus of the case-law
3.3 The principles
§  
48 - 51
(a) The access and hearing rights are not absolute
§  
52
-
60
(b) The access and hearing rights only apply to rules and proceedings which are decisive of rights and obligations
§  
61 - 62
(c) The right of access to the courts in practice
§  
63 - 65
(d) The right to a fair and public hearing as it operates at first instance
§  
66
(i) Public hearing
§  
67
(ii) Public pronouncement of judgment
§  
68
(iii) Oral hearing
§  
69
(iv) Presence at hearing
§  
70
(v) Restricting evidence
§  
71
(vi) Giving reasons
§  
72
-
76
(e) The right to a fair and public hearing in appellate proceedings
§  
77
-
82
(f) Applications for leave to appeal
§  
83 - 84
3.4 Relevance to the proposed reforms
Section 4: Overriding objective and case management powers
§  
85
-
88
4.1 The approach adopted in the CPR
§  
89
4.2 The consultation response
§  
90 - 94
4.3 The different facets of the overriding objective and associated rules
§  
95
-
100
4.4 The new code methodology facet
§  
101
-
106
4.5 The proportionality facet
§  
107
-
111
4.6 The facets concerning active case management and express powers
§  
112 - 113
Section 5: Pre-action protocols
§  
114
-
119
5.1 What pre-action protocols require of the parties under the CPR
§  
120
5.2 Non-compliance with pre-action protocols under the CPR
§  
121
-
123
5.3 The consultation response
§  
124
-
133
5.4 The Working Party's view
§  
134
-
138
5.5 Costs-only proceedings
§  
139
5.6 The Working Party's recommendations
Section 6: Commencement of Proceedings
§  
140 - 141
6.1 The consultation response
§  
142
-
150
6.2 The present position
§  
151
-
159
6.3 Unnecessary complexity
§  
160 - 161
6.4 Single mode of commencement
§  
162
6.5 Recommendations
Section 7: Disputing Jurisdiction
§  
163
7.1 The consultation response
§  
164 - 167
7.2 Commentary
Section 8: Default Judgments and Admissions
§  
168
8.1 The consultation response
§  
169
-
174
8.2 Commentary
§  
175
-
183
8.3 Withdrawal of admissions
§  
184 - 186
Section 9: Pleadings
9.1 The contents of pleadings
§  
187
-
190
(a) Re-stating the requirements
§  
191
-
198
(b) The fundamental approach
§  
199
-
203
(c) Annexing documents and identifying witnesses in pleadings
§  
204 - 206
(d) Pleading law
§  
207 - 208
9.2 Requiring substantive defences to be pleaded
§  
209 - 211
(a) Excessive detail in substantive pleading
§  
212 - 214
(b) Application to subsequent pleadings
§  
215 - 216
(c) The defence of tender before action
9.3 Requiring pleadings to be verified
§  
217
-
220
(a) The nature of the requirement
§  
221 - 223
(b) Justification and consultation response
(c) Reservations expressed
§  
224
-
239
(i) Need to identify maker of statement of truth
§  
240
-
243
(ii) Front-end loading of costs
§  
244 - 245
(iii) Sufficient time to plead the defence
§  
246
-
248
(iv) Overseas parties and commercial cases
§  
249
-
261
(v) Contempt proceedings as a sanction
§  
262 - 264
(d) Verifying inconsistent alternatives
9.4 Clarifying pleadings
§  
265
-
267
(a) Judicial scrutiny of pleadings
§  
268 - 270
(b) Applications for further and better particulars
§  
271
(c) Verification of voluntary particulars
§  
272 - 273
9.5 Amending pleadings
§  
274 - 275
Section 10: Summary Disposal of Proceedings
§  
276 - 277
10.1 The consultation response
§  
278
-
284
10.2 No practical difference
§  
285
10.3 Undesirable differences
§  
286
-
288
10.4 Recommendations
§  
289 - 290
10.5 Basic Law considerations
Section 11: Sanctioned offers and payments
§  
291
-
294
11.1 Consultation response and recommendation
11.2 Relevant Hong Kong considerations
§  
295
-
299
(a) Offers and payments made by the defendant
§  
300
-
303
(b) When sanctioned offers can be made
§  
304
-
309
(c) Sufficiency of information
§  
310
-
316
(d) Withdrawal only with leave
§  
317
-
321
(e) The court's general discretion as to costs
§  
322 - 324
(f) The court's general discretion as to interest
Section 12: Interim remedies and Mareva injunctions in aid of foreign proceedings
§  
325 - 326
12.1 Interim remedies generally
§  
327
12.2 Mareva injunctions in aid of foreign proceedings
§  
328
-
331
(a) The present law in Hong Kong
§  
332
-
339
(b) Why reform should be considered
§  
340
-
359
(c) The nature of the proposed reform
Section 13: Case management timetabling and milestones
§  
360
-
362
13.1 The thinking behind these Proposals
§  
363
-
364
13.2 The consultation response
§  
365 - 366
13.3 A timetabling procedure should be introduced
§  
367
-
369
13.4 The timetable presently laid down in the RHC
§  
370
-
376
13.5 A questionnaire-based timetable should be introduced as part of the summons for directions
§  
377 - 378
13.6 The benefits of a questionnaire
§  
379 - 381
13.7 Milestones and flexibility
§  
382
(a) Starting with a realistic timetable
§  
383
(b) Case management and the milestones
§  
384 - 385
(i) Case management conferences
§  
386
-
389
(ii) Pre-trial reviews, trial dates and trial periods
§  
390
-
392
(iii) Time-limits between milestones
§  
393 - 394
(c) Other reforms in support
§  
395
-
398
(d) When cases œgo to sleep /a>
§  
399
-
405
13.8 Running List for trials
§  
406 - 407
13.9 Specialist Lists
Section 14: Docket system, specialist lists and vexatious litigants
§  
408
-
412
14.1 A docket system
§  
413
-
416
14.2 Specialist lists and procedural autonomy
§  
417 - 419
(a) Procedural autonomy should be retained
§  
420 - 422
(b) Pre-action protocols and specialist lists
§  
423
-
429
(c) New specialist lists
§  
430
14.3 Vexatious litigants
§  
431
-
434
(a) The present legislation
§  
435 - 436
(b) The position in England and Wales
§  
437
-
445
(c) Development of the Grepe v Loam jurisdiction
§  
446
-
453
(d) The difficulties
§  
454
-
462
(e) A new statutory basis for vexatious litigant orders and constitutional requirements
§  
463
(f) Recommendations
Section 15: Multi-party litigation and derivative actions
§  
464 - 465
15.1 Multi-party litigation
§  
466 - 468
15.2 Derivative actions
Section 16: Discovery
§  
469
-
471
16.1 Modifying the basic discovery obligations
§  
472
-
477
(a)The consultation response
§  
478
(b)Recommendations
§  
479
16.2 Discovery by request
16.3 Pre-action and non-party disclosure
(a) Pre-action disclosure
§  
480
-
482
(i) The present position
§  
483 - 484
(ii) The position under the CPR
§  
485
(iii) Consultation response
§  
486 - 488
(iv) Recommendations
(b) Non-party pre-trial disclosure
§  
489
-
494
(i) The present position
§  
495
(ii) The consultation response
§  
496
-
499
(iii) Recommendations
§  
500
16.4 Case managing discovery
§  
501
Section 17: Interlocutory applications and summary assessment of costs
§  
502 - 505
17.1 Encourage cooperation by the parties
§  
506 - 508
17.2 Court making procedural orders nisi
§  
509
-
515
17.3 Self-executing orders
§  
516
-
526
17.4 Applications dealt with on the papers
§  
527
17.5 Skipping the hearing before the master
§  
528
17.6 Hearings without attending at court
§  
529
-
532
17.7 The nature of a summary assessment of costs
§  
533 - 534
17.8 The consultation response
§  
535 - 536
17.9 The Working Party's view
§  
537
17.10 Features of the rules envisaged
§  
538
-
541
17.11 Inconsistent assessments and excessive reductions
§  
542
-
545
17.12 Provisional summary assessments
§  
546
-
549
Section 18: Wasted costs
§  
550 - 551
18.1 The consultation response
§  
552 - 554
18.2 The Working Party's view
§  
555
-
562
18.3 Satellite litigation on wasted costs
§  
563
-
570
18.4 Pressurising the opposition
§  
571 - 572
18.5 Where privilege is not waived
§  
573 - 574
18.6 Extending liability to barristers
§  
575
Section 19: Witness statements and evidence
§  
576
-
579
19.1 Consultation response to Proposals 35 and 36
§  
580
-
584
19.2 The Working Party's view
§  
585 - 586
19.3 Consultation response to Proposal 37
§  
587
-
590
19.4 The Working Party's view
§  
591 - 592
Section 20: Expert evidence
§  
593
20.1 The consultation response
§  
594
-
601
20.2 The court's present powers to control expert evidence
§  
602
-
607
20.3 The effect of Proposal 38 and the Working Party's view
§  
608
-
612
20.4 Proposal 39(a) to (c)
§  
613
-
621
20.5 Proposal 39(d)
§  
622
-
624
20.6 Proposal 39(e)
§  
625
-
629
20.7 The consultation response
§  
630
-
634
20.8 The Working Party's view
§  
635
-
642
Section 21: Case managing trials
Section 22: Leave to appeal
§  
643
-
650
22.1 Leave requirement for interlocutory appeals
§  
651 - 652
22.2 A leave requirement for final appeals
§  
653
-
658
22.3 Threshold test for granting leave
§  
659
-
663
22.4 Case management decisions and leave to appeal
§  
664
-
670
22.5 Tiers of appeals
§  
671 - 672
Section 23: Appeals
§  
673 - 675
23.1 Case management provisions presently applicable
§  
676
-
682
23.2 The consultation response
§  
683
-
684
23.3 The present appellate approach
§  
685
-
687
23.4 The CPR approach
§  
688 - 689
23.5 The consultation response
Section 24: General approach to inter-party costs
§  
690
-
695
24.1 The present approach
§  
696
24.2 The consultation response
§  
697
-
701
24.3 The Working Party's view
Section 25: Costs transparency
§  
702 - 704
25.1 The context of these Proposals
§  
705
-
716
25.2 Higher rights of audience and conditional fees
§  
717 - 719
25.3 These Proposals
25.4 The consultation response and the Working Party's views
§  
720
-
726
(a) Proposal 52: costs-related disclosures to the client
§  
727
-
738
(b) Proposal 53: voluntary publication of professionally relevant information
§  
739
-
748
(c) Proposal 55: Benchmark costs
§  
749 - 750
(d) Proposal 56: Disclosure of costs between the parties and to the court
§  
751 - 752
Section 26: Challenging one's own lawyer's bill
§  
753 - 755
26.1 The consultation response
§  
756
-
763
26.2 The Working Party's view
§  
764
-
784
Section 27: Taxing the other side's costs
The consultation response
§  
785
Section 28: CPR Schedule
Section 29: Alternative Dispute Resolution
§  
786
-
793
29.1 The Proposals
§  
794
-
796
29.2 The consultation response
§  
797
-
800
29.3 The Working Party's position generally
29.4 The five broad objections
§  
801
-
804
(a) The constitutional argument
§  
805 - 806
(b) The duty to entertain litigation point
§  
807
-
813
(c) The lack of infrastructure point
§  
814
-
820
(d) The voluntariness objection
§  
821 - 825
(e) The additional costs point
29.5 The specific proposals
§  
826 - 827
(a) Proposal 68: Encouraging purely voluntary mediation
§  
828
-
831
(b) Proposal 63: Mandatory mediation by statutory rule
§  
832
(c) Proposal 65: Mandatory mediation by election of one party
§  
833
-
838
(d) Proposal 66: Mediation as condition of legal aid
§  
839 - 840
(e) Proposal 64: Mediation as a condition for proceeding with the action
§  
841
-
854
(f) Proposal 67: Unreasonable refusal of mediation reflected in costs orders
§  
855
-
866
Section 30: Unrepresented litigants
§  
867
-
898
Section 31: Judicial review
§  
899
Section 32: Material support for the reforms
§  
900
-
901
32.1 The consultation response
§  
902
32.2 The Working Party's view
§  
903
-
905
(a) Training
§  
906
-
913
(b) Monitoring
§  
914
-
918
(c) Information technology
§  
919
-
927
(d) Adequate resources
Proposals and Recommendations
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Appendix 4