Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Journalistic materials

Legal area

Court

31 Jan 2022

WONG WAI KEUNG v. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

Citation

[2022] HKCFI 374
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP1222/2020

The court dismissed all LPP claims over the Disputed Materials except items 53 and 54 (two pages of the RKSA email) because the majority of documents were public/company search documents, inter partes correspondence, or materials compiled by the plaintiff (own documents) and therefore not privileged; the Lyell v Kennedy exception does not extend to selections made from a party's own documents and disclosure of the remaining materials would not betray legal advice; accordingly the Commissioner may inspect and use the Disputed Materials (other than items 53 and 54) and the plaintiff must pay co…
10 Jun 2021

LAI KIN YANG TIMOTHY v. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

Citation

[2021] HKCFI 1677
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP1239/2020

Amendment summonses introducing public law challenges to the lawfulness of search warrants, and prayers for return of seized materials based on irrelevance and for injunctive relief, were dismissed as beyond the jurisdiction of these originating summons proceedings and as an abuse of process under the exclusivity principle; the court permitted amendments relating to private law claims for trespass/conversion/detinue (which the Commissioner did not oppose); the interlocutory injunction (HCMP1217) was dismissed and s16 CPO precludes granting injunctions against the Crown in these private procee…
10 Jun 2021

WONG WAI KEUNG v. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

Citation

[2021] HKCFI 1677
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP1222/2020

The court held that the proposed amendments introducing public law challenges to the validity of search warrants were impermissible in these originating summons proceedings because such challenges fall within the exclusive domain of judicial review and, alternatively, amount to an abuse of process under the Exclusivity Principle; therefore the amendment summonses were dismissed except insofar as claims for trespass/conversion/detinue (which the Commissioner did not oppose) and the interlocutory injunction application in HCMP1217 was dismissed; costs were ordered against the plaintiffs.
10 Jun 2021

NEXT DIGITAL LTD AND OTHERS v. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

Citation

[2021] HKCFI 1677
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP1217/2020

The court dismissed the proposed amendments that seek to challenge the lawfulness of the search warrants and refused the interlocutory injunction application because (1) challenges to warrant validity are within the exclusive purview of judicial review and permitting them in private originating summonses would be an abuse of process, (2) the proposed return/irrelevance remedies require premature determination of evidential relevance in ongoing criminal (national security) investigations, and (3) injunctions against the Commissioner in his representative capacity are precluded by CPO s16; amen…
21 Jan 2000

Apple Daily Ltd. v. The Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption

Citation

Apple Daily Ltd. v. The Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV357/1999

The Court held the warrants were not invalid. Drafting errors and surplus wording in the warrants did not vitiate them because the officers in fact had lawful seizure and detention authority under s.10C(1)(c) ICACO, the wording differences were not shown to cause prejudice or miscarriage of justice, and public interest immunity and Ord.119 r.5 justified non-disclosure of the affirmation while the investigation continued; appeal dismissed.

Hong Kong Case Law

WONG WAI KEUNG v. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

LAI KIN YANG TIMOTHY v. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

WONG WAI KEUNG v. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

NEXT DIGITAL LTD AND OTHERS v. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

Apple Daily Ltd. v. The Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption