Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Discretion to admit evidence

Legal area

Court

21 Dec 2006

SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE v. SHUM CHIU AND OTHERS

Citation

SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE v. SHUM CHIU AND OTHERS
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV52/2006

The District Court judge erred in refusing the prosecution leave to call evidence to justify the decision to covertly record a meeting at which solicitors were present; factual disputes about the investigators' motives and justification for intruding on prima facie privileged communications required a hearing. The decision refusing evidence was quashed and the matter remitted for rehearing; it was improper to conclude a permanent stay was inevitably required without receiving that evidence.
26 Oct 1994

HARDY KOWARA v. HEADWELL INVESTMENTS LTD.

Citation

HARDY KOWARA v. HEADWELL INVESTMENTS LTD.
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP2701/1994

There is no Hong Kong statute or rule that absolutely prevents the use of a statutory declaration made before the solicitor who prepared it, the declarant's solicitor, or a solicitor who acted in the referenced transaction; admissibility depends on the facts and the court has a discretion to admit such declarations where the policy exclusion would be unduly harsh or retrospective. In this case the declaration was admissible and the court ordered in terms of the summons.
17 Nov 1993

R. v. YIU Ka-yin

Citation

R. v. YIU Ka-yin
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC237/1993

The Court allowed the appeal and quashed the convictions because the trial judge failed to exercise his discretion on a proper basis: he did not adequately weigh the enormous prejudicial effect of admitting an old juvenile drug conviction (and failed to consider limiting admission to other convictions or to distinguish between the two counts), thereby risking denial of a fair trial; the convictions were unsafe and a retrial was ordered.

Hong Kong Case Law

SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE v. SHUM CHIU AND OTHERS

HARDY KOWARA v. HEADWELL INVESTMENTS LTD.

R. v. YIU Ka-yin