B. Legal Aid Schemes for Civil Cases run by the Legal Aid Department

B. Legal Aid Schemes for Civil Cases run by the Legal Aid Department

In civil proceedings the Legal Aid Department provides eligible applicants with representation by a solicitor, and where necessary, by a barrister.

Legal Aid is available to any person in Hong Kong, whether the person is a Hong Kong resident or non-resident. Legal Aid will normally be granted if the applicant is able to satisfy the financial means test and the case merits test.

There are two Legal Aid Schemes for civil cases: the Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme and the Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme.

The Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme is for people with financial resources not exceeding $449,620. The Ordinary Scheme covers most types of civil proceedings in the District Court, the Court of First Instance, & the Court of Appeal of the High Court, the Court of Final Appeal, the Lands Tribunal for Part II tenancy matters, certain coroners inquests, as well as application to the Mental Health Review Tribunal. The Ordinary Scheme does not however cover (1) defamation claims (2) claims in Small Claims Tribunal and Labour Tribunal (3) disputes between shareholders or business partners, (4) claims for the recovery of a loan made in the ordinary course of the applicant's business, (5) proceedings where the only question is about when and how an applicant should repay certain debt or costs, (6) relator actions and (7) election petitions (unless a human right issue is involved).

The Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme is for "sandwich class" with financial resources exceed HK$449,620 but not $2,248,110. However, the Supplementary Scheme only cover the following types of cases where the claim is likely to exceed $75,000: (1) cases involving personal injury or death, (2) medical, dental or legal professional negligence; (3) professional negligence claims against certified public accountants (practising), registered architects, registered professional engineers, registered professional surveyors, registered professional planners, authorized land surveyors, registered landscape architects and estate agents; (4) negligence claims against insurers or their intermediaries in respect of the taking out of the personal insurance products; (5) monetary claims against vendors in the sale of completed or uncompleted first-hand residential properties.

This scheme also covers claims brought by employees under Employees’ Compensation Ordinance and representation for employees in appeals against awards made by the Labour Tribunal, irrespective of the amount in dispute.

For more details about the Legal Aid Scheme for civil cases, please visit the Legal Aid Department's webpage or telephone 2537 7677 (24-hour interactive voice processing system) or 2537 7661 (Headquarters).