2 Feb 2026
The statutory wording of s20(1) Housing Ordinance confines the right to appeal to the tenant or an authorised occupier; the applicant was neither, so she lacked the statutory right to appeal. The lower court's refusal was correct; appeal dismissed and costs awarded.
17 Apr 2025
The court held that the eligibility requirement for membership of a committee of inspection in a compulsory winding up is prescribed by the statutory provision requiring a COI to consist of creditors and contributories (pre-2016 s.207(1), now s.206(5)); in that context "creditor" means a person holding a legal right to the debt or liability (limited, for voting and COI purposes, to non-contingent/ascertained creditors). A regulating order under ss.227A-227E does not displace this eligibility requirement. Ultimate Holders who hold only an economic or beneficial interest in global notes and lac…
6 Mar 2025
On true construction of the Implementation Rules Schedule 5 the prosecution must prove that the organisation in fact satisfied the Schd 5 s1 definition of foreign agent and that the appellants were office-bearers or managers of such an agent; defendants may challenge the validity of a Schedule 5 notice in criminal proceedings; the prosecution's redaction of the only material relied upon to establish foreign agent status both prevented proof of an essential element and deprived appellants of a fair trial, so convictions quashed.
10 Jan 2025
The Tribunal found no arguable error of law: Clause 4(f)'s reference to "units" is to the fixed 76 units in the First Schedule; contributions to Clause 4(f) Expenses are apportioned by those fixed units and, where a unit has been subdivided, each owner's share is fixed by their undivided share under section 22(2) BMO. The Respondent's challenge had no reasonable prospect of success; leave to appeal was refused and costs ordered against the Respondent.
21 Oct 2024
Section 37ZF must be construed to require voluntary departure for a torture/non-refoulement claim to be treated as withdrawn; forced repatriation by the Immigration Department prior to judicial determination does not constitute "leaves Hong Kong" under s37ZF, but because the 5th applicant here voluntarily returned, s37ZF applies and his application is properly dismissed and the Official Solicitor discharged.
8 Feb 2024
On proper construction of the DMC read in its transactional context with the First Assignment, the DMC does not specify or designate the external walls for the exclusive use, occupation or enjoyment of the developer; the external walls are common parts and the manager was entitled under the DMC to apportion repair and maintenance costs into separate budgets for the commercial development, domestic blocks, car port and other parts, so the Lands Tribunal declarations to that effect are restored.
27 Apr 2023
The Court accepted the short delay as excusable, held that the questions concerning the proper construction of NSL article 21 (whether the five‑year threshold is mandatory) and NSL article 33(1) (whether its three conditions are exhaustive or whether other mitigating factors may reduce a sentence below five years) are points of law of great and general importance, and granted a certificate under section 32(2) on those formulated questions for the Court of Final Appeal to determine.
3 Apr 2023
The Court held that Regulation 21(1)(b) legitimately abrogates LPP by necessary implication for communications concerning financial eligibility to prevent abuse of legal aid and that this abrogation extends to communications made prior to grant of legal aid because imposing a temporal limit would defeat the regulation's purpose; the applicant's challenge was not reasonably arguable and so leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal was refused.
29 Dec 2022
The court applied the established certification test: the applicant must show a point of law of great and general importance or that substantial and grave injustice has been done and that the proposed question is reasonably arguable; on the material before the court the threshold was not met and certification was refused.
15 Jul 2022
Section 17 must be construed primarily by reference to the original English text and ejusdem generis applies: the statute covers three category-specific classes and the mens rea 'intent to use the same for any unlawful purpose' must be read to correspond with the particular category of instrument; the authenticated Chinese text contains material inaccuracies and cannot be used to widen the provision; plastic cable ties were not within any category and conviction was unsafe.