CJR Consultation Paper on Proposed Legislative Amendments

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CJR - Consultation Paper on Proposed Legislative Amendments

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District Court

3.4 Most of the 84 CJR recommendations requiring amendments to subsidiary legislation at Annex H are applicable to the District Court as well. Accordingly, similar amendments should be introduced to the Rules of the District Court ("RDC") (Cap. 336H). It is considered that provisions in the RDC should follow those in the RHC unless there are special considerations justifying differences between the two sets of Rules. Amendments are therefore proposed to the RDC, to (i) implement the relevant CJR recommendations, and (ii) achieve consistency with the RHC. A summary of the proposed amendments to RDC for these two objectives is at Annex I.

Annex I

3.5 However, the RDC will differ from the RHC in the following aspects -

(a)	The right of a director to represent a limited company is preserved in Order 5A of the RDC;
(b)	The present position is that leave is generally required to appeal against any decision made in the civil proceedings in the District Court. This position will be preserved. It will be different from the High Court, where leave to appeal is only required for interlocutory decisions; and
(c)	For taxation proceedings, the District Court will continue to follow its existing requirements of counsel's certificates, which are different from those in the High Court. The "two-thirds cap" under Order 62, Rule 32(1A) of the RDC will also be preserved.

3.6 As mentioned in paragraph 3.3(c)(viii) above, the Steering Committee is inviting views as to the itemization and quantum of the scale costs and fixed costs as laid down in the First and Second Schedules of Order 62 of the RHC. Views are also invited as to the appropriate itemization and quantum of such costs in the District Court.