Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Common interest exception

Legal area

Court

19 Mar 2020

RE A

Citation

[2020] HKCFI 493
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP2728/2017

The court refused the applicant's ex parte application for pre‑clearance declarations. It held that the 1st/2nd declarations as framed necessarily involved declarations of non‑criminality and that civil courts should make such declarations only in very or truly exceptional circumstances after a fact‑sensitive inquiry into the totality of the facts and a balancing of competing public policies (access to justice vs. risk of corrupting public justice). Qualified civil‑only declarations would be impractical and meaningless in Hong Kong where maintenance and champerty remain crimes and torts. The…
21 Mar 2014

HKSAR v. MUI KWOK KEUNG

Citation

HKSAR v. MUI KWOK KEUNG
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC133/2013

The application for a certificate was refused because the points of law were not properly articulated nor capable of arising on the facts of this case, the Court had considered the public policy exceptions and the evidence demonstrated why legal practitioners may have less access to those exceptions, the common interest exception cannot be invoked to validate the agreement challenged as champertous, and the trial judge properly found a genuine risk to judicial integrity on the evidence.
30 Jun 2011

CHINACHEM CHARITABLE FOUNDATION LTD v. CHAN CHUN CHUEN AND ANOTHER

Citation

CHINACHEM CHARITABLE FOUNDATION LTD v. CHAN CHUN CHUEN AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCAP8/2007

The Master found the 1st Defendant failed to raise a real and relevant dispute of unlawful maintenance/champerty or of a breach of the indemnity principle sufficient to engage the taxing master's power to order discovery; the Plaintiff's audited financial statements, explanations, admitted exclusions and solicitors' certificate showed legitimate funding and that the Plaintiff's liability to its solicitors exceeded the amount claimed. Accordingly discovery of the specified documents was unnecessary and the summons for discovery was dismissed, with costs ordered against the 1st Defendant.

Hong Kong Case Law

RE A

HKSAR v. MUI KWOK KEUNG

CHINACHEM CHARITABLE FOUNDATION LTD v. CHAN CHUN CHUEN AND ANOTHER