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3.2
The focus of the case-law
The international jurisprudence bearing on procedural issues has tended to focus on
the rights of access to the courts and to a fair and public hearing (together referred to
here as "the access and hearing rights"). It has generally involved challenges to
procedural arrangements :-
(a)
which deny certain classes of persons the right to bring proceedings in court,
requiring them, for instance, first to seek the court's or some other person's
permission, or to make certain advance payments, and so forth;
(b)
which deny a party the right to a public and/or oral hearing and/or to be present
at the hearing;
(c)
which deny or restrict the admission of evidence which a party seeks to call in
support of his case; and
(d)
which involve the court making decisions without giving reasons or without
pronouncing its judgment orally in public.
There may be other procedures which could engage the access and hearing rights or
other constitutional rights. However, a discussion of the abovementioned categories in
the context of the access and hearing rights sufficiently illustrates the principles
involved and identifies the concerns to be borne in mind when considering procedural
reform in Hong Kong.
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