The Legislative Council passed resolutions on 27 June 2018 to raise the upper financial limits on the civil jurisdiction of the Small Claims Tribunal (“SCT”) and the District Court (“DC”) in certain matters. In other words, both the SCT and DC will have the power to deal with claims of a larger amount. Such resolutions will come into operation on 3 December 2018.
The changes are as follows:
| Jurisdictional Limit | Limit before 3 Dec 2018 | Limit on or after 3 Dec 2018 |
| SCT | HK$50,000 | HK$75,000 |
| DC: general jurisdiction in actions of contract, quasi-contract and tort | HK$1 million | HK$3 million |
| DC: proceedings for recovery of land or relating to title in land (in terms of annual rent or rateable value of the land or annual value of the land) | HK$240,000 | HK$320,000 |
| DC: equity jurisdiction (e.g. specific performance and injunction, etc.) in proceedings related to land | HK$3 million | HK$7 million |
| DC: equity jurisdiction in proceedings unrelated to land | HK$1 million | HK$3 million |
The jurisdiction of the High Court (“HC”) is unlimited.
The fees for filing a claim at the SCT has also been revised as follows:-
| Current range of claim amount | Revised range of claim amount | Fee |
| Claims not exceeding HK$3,000 | Claims not exceeding HK$5,000 | HK$20 |
| Claims exceeding HK$3,000 but not exceeding HK$17,000 | Claims exceeding HK$5,000 but not exceeding HK$25,000 | HK$40 |
| Claims exceeding HK$17,000 but not exceeding HK$33,000 | Claims exceeding HK$25,000 but not exceeding HK$50,000 | HK$70 |
| Claims exceeding HK$33,000 but not exceeding HK$50,000 | Claims exceeding HK$50,000 but not exceeding HK$75,000 | HK$120 |
In line with the approach for the previous civil jurisdictional limit adjustments, there is no mechanism for the transfer from the DC to the SCT in respect of civil cases already filed at the DC before the commencement date of the Resolutions. The DC will continue to deal with civil cases with claim amounts between HK$50,001 and HK$75,000 which have already been filed at the DC prior to 3 December 2018.
Representation in different levels of Court
For proceedings in the SCT, parties are not allowed to have legal representation, but they can still consult a lawyer before attending any hearing.
For proceedings in the DC, parties can have legal representation or act in person. In the latter case, if any of the parties is a limited company, a duly authorized director may act for such party by filing a required affidavit.
For proceedings in the HC, if any of the parties is a limited company, it must be represented by a solicitor (unless leave is granted by the Registrar).
Legal costs in different levels of Court
The changes are expected to bring about better access to justice for the public as, in general, legal costs incurred in proceedings in the DC are lower than those in the HC. The adjustments are also intended to allow better distribution of cases between the HC, the DC and the SCT.
Notwithstanding the above, litigation can be costly, stressful and time-consuming in all levels of Court. If you have any questions about commencing proceedings, merits of potential claims or any other matters relating to conducting litigation in the Hong Kong Courts, please do not hesitate to contact our solicitors.
Contacts:
Nick Gall, Senior Partner
Tel +852 3405 7688
nickgall@gallhk.com
Yandy Lam, Associate
Tel +852 3405 7612
yandylam@gallhk.com
