香港特別行政區 訴 秦錦釗

香港特別行政區 訴 秦錦釗

The assessor's original determinations were correct and are upheld: costs must be reasonable and compensatory; the defendant failed to justify engagement of an additional junior silk (Tanie Toh) and her claimed fees were disallowed; $200/hr is an appropriate benchmark for assessing a self-represented defendant's hourly rate in the absence of documentary proof of higher income; the mainland legal opinions were excessive in number and partly duplicative and were capped (one opinion award and limited amount per category); payments to Yinggao Consultants were substantially reduced to a reasonable commercial amount (HK$40,000 per month × 46 months = HK$1,840,000); and this court has no...

Citation
[2024] HKDC 568
Parties
原告人（付款方）: 香港特別行政區; 第一被告人（收款方）: 秦錦釗
Court
District Court
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
23 April 2024
Case Number
DCCC919/2015
Procedural Posture
Criminal (costs Review) / Costs Review Judgment (application to Review a Costs Assessment)
Outcome
Review dismissed; original costs assessment and reductions upheld; provisional costs order made for costs of the review against the applicant
Legal Topics
Costs Assessment, Self Representation Costs, Engagement of Counsel, Admissibility of Foreign Legal Opinions, Jurisdiction to Award Costs of Higher Courts
Source Language
CH
Criminal Law Procedural Law Costs Law Costs Assessment Self Representation Costs Engagement of Counsel Admissibility of Foreign Legal Opinions Jurisdiction to Award Costs of Higher Courts

Case Brief

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Parties

香港特別行政區

原告人（付款方）

秦錦釗

第一被告人（收款方）

Procedural Posture

Criminal (costs Review) / Costs Review Judgment (application to Review a Costs Assessment)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether additional senior and junior counsel fees claimed were reasonable and recoverable
  2. 2 Whether self-represented defendant's hourly rate should exceed statutory guidance and what rate to adopt
  3. 3 Whether Order 62 r.28A(2)-(3) (the $200/hour and two-thirds guidance) applies to criminal costs in this court

Ratio Decidendi

The assessor's original determinations were correct and are upheld: costs must be reasonable and compensatory; the defendant failed to justify engagement of an additional junior silk (Tanie Toh) and her claimed fees were disallowed; $200/hr is an appropriate benchmark for assessing a self-represented defendant's hourly rate in the absence of documentary proof of higher income; the mainland legal opinions were excessive in number and partly duplicative and were capped (one opinion award and limited amount per category); payments to Yinggao Consultants were substantially reduced to a reasonable commercial amount (HK$40,000 per month × 46 months = HK$1,840,000); and this court has no...

Court Disposition

Review dismissed; original costs assessment and reductions upheld; provisional costs order made for costs of the review against the applicant

Orders

  • Original costs assessment upheld in all material respects
  • Disallowance of fees for Ms Tanie Toh as claimed