Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Sivan procedure

Legal area

Court

19 Mar 2021

HKSAR v. “M”

Citation

[2021] HKCA 385
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC327/2019

The court must assess assistance on the basis of whether it is "of practical use" (which includes criminal intelligence and is not limited to tangible results), and law enforcement and prosecutors must properly evaluate and, where appropriate, disclose that assessment to the sentencing court so the defendant can receive any justified additional discount.
28 May 1998

HKSAR v. TSE KA WAH

Citation

HKSAR v. TSE KA WAH
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC647/1997

Because the judge publicly identified the appellant as having assisted the authorities after mitigation had been heard in chambers, confidentiality was breached contrary to the purpose of the Sivan procedure; sentencing must be in open court without direct reference to sensitive material, the prosecution bears primary responsibility for maintaining confidentiality, and the breach materially prejudiced the appellant such that the Court allowed the appeal and reduced the sentence from four to three years' imprisonment.