146. |
There is no doubt that
unrepresented litigants have become a major feature of the litigation landscape of the
HKSAR. However, care must be taken in measuring the level of their involvement. The status
of a litigant may change from unrepresented to represented and vice-versa in the course of
a case. If one looks at cases at too early a stage, a huge percentage of all actions may
be thought to involve unrepresented litigants simply because they have not yet instructed
lawyers or because their lawyers have not yet come onto the court's record. (Note
110)
Moreover, as indicated above, a very substantial percentage of cases end in a default
judgment. In such cases, the fact that a defendant is unrepresented does not pose any
problems for the system. |