Legal Aid in Civil Cases

Our Vision

To be a cornerstone of the rule of law in Hong Kong by delivering quality legal aid services.

2 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Our Mission

• To ensure that no one who qualifies for legal aid is denied access to justice because of lack of means.

• To maintain the highest standards of professional excellence and ethics.

• To develop and maintain a highly-motivated, dynamic, welltrained and committed workforce.

• To work in partnership with the legal profession to reach our vision.

• To anticipate and meet the ever-changing needs of the society.

Our Values

• Independence

• Commitment

• Efficiency and effectiveness

• Professionalism

• Teamwork

• Caring and responsive

Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. 3 Foreword

I am pleased to present my sixth Annual Report for the Legal Aid Department. 2018 was a fruitful and exciting year as we were faced with many new changes and challenges. Again, with the support from our stakeholders and the hard work of our staff, we were able to surf through the year with accomplishments.

Thomas Edward Kwong Director of Legal Aid

Serving the Community

We continued to make use of every opportunity to engage different sectors of the community in order to promote legal aid services. We delivered talks, organised visits and attended quite a number of sharing sessions and meetings with NGOs, youth and students as well as other government departments on a wide range of topics, from specific categories of legal aid services to the working life of being a civil servant working in the Legal Aid Department. We are delighted that such activities were well-received by the general public and will continue to strive to the best of our ability to serve the community.

Quality Service to the Public

As highlighted in our 2017 Annual Report, efforts and resources were invested by the Department to explore means to further enhance the delivery of our service through the use of advanced technology. In January 2018, we implemented an electronic appointment system by which intended legal aid applicants could make appointment and obtain different types of application-related forms and documents through the Legal Aid Electronic Services Portal on our website. The launching of its mobile version is expected to take place in the coming year. In parallel, we began the feasibility study on our Case Management and Case Accounting System in 2018. With the benefit of the feasibility study, we will be able to identify the possible technical options for future enhancement. This objective is to raise the efficiency in our future delivery of legal aid services.

4 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. We always attach great importance to the feedback from aided persons on our service. In this connection, throughout the year, as a token of appreciation, an environmentally-friendly bag designed by a colleague of the Department is presented as a souvenir to those aided persons who had returned the completed customer service survey forms to us upon conclusion of their cases.

Synergy with Stakeholders

Throughout the year, we continued to build upon a close working relationship with our stakeholders. The results from such collaboration are very encouraging.

In April 2018, we were given the opportunity to participate in the “Access to Justice InnoTech Law Hackathon” competition organised by the Law Society of Hong Kong. We provided support in setting the questions for the Hackathon and gave guidance to the participating teams during training sessions and at the competition. This invaluable experience gave us insight on how to work out technology-enable solutions to address issues on access to legal aid services. It was also conducive to promoting our services to the public and the importance of legal aid in ensuring access to justice.

In October 2018, we participated in the international event of “2018 Asia Pro Bono Conference Hong Kong”. One of our colleagues delivered a talk on legal aid services and shared with the audience how our services facilitate access to justice for people in need. We deeply treasure the positive feedback we received from the organisers and stakeholders and look forward to further cooperation with pro bono lawyers in the near future.

With the support from the Legal Aid Services Council (LASC), we kick-started the Winter Internship Programme in December 2018. The programme, on top of the one which took place during Summer, provided training opportunities and experience sharing with our younger generation who is interested to join the legal profession.

In order to shorten the waiting time for legal aid appeal hearings, we worked closely with the Judiciary on how to streamline the process and expedite the work flow. We thank the Judiciary for their understanding and support which made the enhancement a smooth and successful one.

2018 was also a rewarding year to our colleagues for their commendable performance and service to the public. One of our colleagues was awarded the Secretary for the Civil Service’s Commendation Award 2018 in recognition of her commitment and dedication to her duties as well as unfailing support to the Department. Two other colleagues were awarded The Ombudsman’s Awards 2018 for Officers of Public Organisations for the efforts they made in handling enquiries and complaints in an expeditious, highly effective and professional manner. I was privileged to be able to attend the presentation ceremonies to share their joy and I am so glad to see that our colleagues’ dedication and commitment to their work have earned the respect and recognition of others.

Looking Ahead

The responsibilities for formulating legal aid policy and housekeeping the Legal Aid Department have been transferred from the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) to the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office (CS’ Office) since July 2018. I am grateful to HAB for their invaluable support over the past ten years. I also trust that this cohesive and understanding working relationship would continue with the CS’ Office. In this connection, CS has already paid a visit to our Department in July 2018 to learn more about our work and had a fruitful exchange of views and experience with our staff.

Finally, I would also like to express my gratitude to the LASC, the legal profession and our stakeholders for their trust and unfaltering support over the years. We will no doubt continue to strive for the best in our delivery of legal aid services. Last but not least, I would like to pay tribute to my colleagues who have worked so diligently and professionally with perseverance to meet all the challenges in achieving our common goal in upholding legal aid as a cornerstone of the rule of law in Hong Kong.

Thomas Edward Kwong Director of Legal Aid

6 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Contents

Vision, Mission & Values...... 2

FOREWORD...... 4

CHAPTER 1 Departmental Strategic Plan...... 9

CHAPTER 2 Legal Aid Services...... 13

CHAPTER 3 Case of Public Interest or Concern...... 35

CHAPTER 4 Customer Services...... 43

CHAPTER 5 Publicity Programmes...... 49

CHAPTER 6 Organisation, Administration and Staffing...... 57

Appendix 1

Revenue and Expenditure...... 66

Appendix 2

Findings of the Survey on Customer Feedback...... 70

Appendix 3

Director of Legal Aid and Section Heads...... 72

Appendix 4

Address and Communication...... 73

Appendix 5

List of Publications...... 74

8 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Chapter 1 Departmental Strategic Plan

Departmental Strategic Plan

The Department's strategic plan sets out our objectives and describes how the objectives can be achieved. The strategic plan provides a rational basis upon which priorities are determined and is regularly updated to ensure that resources are well targeted and used effectively having regard to the changing needs of society.

The Department's strategic plan can also be viewed at the Department's website.

Implementation of the Strategic Plan in 2018

Information System

After obtaining the approval of the funding application, the Department in 2018 commenced a consultancy study on the Departmental Information Technology Plan, which included a feasibility study on the way forward on revamping the computer system, to develop and formulate strategic information technology plans for supporting our business objectives and effective delivery of legal aid services and to plan new IT projects.

To get ready for the Judiciary’s e-filing arrangement, the Department had developed a scanning solution for e-filing of documents to the Judiciary’s Portal and auto uploading of the e-filed documents to the Department’s Case Management & Case Accounting System. Tentatively, the pilot run with the Judiciary was scheduled to commence in 2019/2020.

Customer Services

With a view to providing members of the public with an alternative means to obtain the most updated legal aid information, in 2018, the means test calculation examples in the legal aid leaflet entitled “How Your Financial Resources and Contribution are Calculated“ were replaced by QR codes, through which members of the public can download the most updated examples to their mobile devices quickly.

The e-booking function in the Legal Aid Electronic Services Portal was enhanced to provide a mobile version for use on common mobile devices by prospective legal aid applicants to make appointment for obtaining pre- application forms.

10 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Chapter 1 Departmental Strategic Plan

(From left) *Ms Juliana Chan Oi-yung, Ms Mo Yuk-wah, Mr Thomas Edward Kwong, Mr Chris Chong Yan-tung

(From left) *Mr Ben Li Chi-keung, Mr Thomas Edward Kwong, Mr Chris Chong Yan- tung

(Rear row from left) *Miss Ada Wong Yiu-ming, Ms Amy Lee Ngar-ling (Front row from left) Ms Tse Sze-fong, Ms Mo Yuk-wah, Mr Jason Chan Mau- kwan)

Publicity

The Department continued to organise various activities to promote public awareness and understanding of legal aid services. In December 2018, the Director of Legal Aid, Mr Thomas Kwong, gave an interview to Hong Kong Lawyer about the works of the Department and talked about the major achievements made on legal aid services during his five-year tenure as the Director and the challenges ahead. The interview was published in Hong Kong Lawyer’s January 2019 issue.

To encourage the application of information technology in legal business, six professional officers of the Department participated as mentors and panel judge in the "Access to Justice InnoTech Law Hackathon" organised by The Law Society of Hong Kong in April 2018.

In July 2018, the Department also gave a radio interview to RTHK5’s「奮發時刻DSE」 programme on the work of Legal Aid Counsel and Law Clerk to educate students on legal aid services and provide information on legal career paths.

(From left) (From Left) *Mr Chris Chong Yan-tung, Ms Doris Lui Wai-lan, Mrs *Miss Doreen Chan Dao-kit, Ms Juliana Chan Miu-kuen, Ms Juliana Christina Hadiwibawa Cheung Ying-man Chan Oi-yung, Ms Nancy Keung Mei-chuen, Mr Steve Wong Yiu-fai

12 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Chapter 2 Legal Aid Services

Legal aid business is conducted in the following service areas:

• Receiving and processing of legal aid applications; • Assignments and monitoring of legal aid cases; • Litigation services; and • Related supporting legal services.

Application and Processing Services

In 2018, a total of 18 405 applications for legal aid were received and 8 252 legal aid certificates were issued:

16000 15 035 14 856 Total No. of applications 18 844 18 405

No. of certi cates issued 8 809 8 252 12000 2017 2018

8000

6 117 5 738

4000 3 471 3 314 2 469 2 364

338 223 235 150 0 Civil Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme Civil Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme Criminal Legal Aid 2017 2018 2017 2018 2017 2018

14 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Chapter 2 Legal Aid Services

Ms Mo Yuk-wah Deputy Director of Legal Aid (Application and Processing)

Legal Aid in Civil Cases

Civil legal aid applications, apart from applications relating to wages claims which are processed by the Insolvency Unit of the Litigation Division, are handled by the Application and Processing Division.

Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme

The Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme (OLAS) covers many different types of civil cases which are closely related to the public's daily lives. Types of cases covered include family disputes, employees' compensation claims, personal injury claims, immigration matters and other miscellaneous proceedings in the District Court, the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Final Appeal. It also covers applications to the Mental Health Review Tribunal and death inquests if the Director is of the opinion that the interests of public justice require legal aid be given.

Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme

Applicants whose financial resources exceed the statutory limit of OLAS of $307,130 but is below $1,535,650 may apply under the Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme (SLAS). The scope of SLAS covers employees' compensation claims and representation for employees in appeals against awards made by the Labour Tribunal irrespective of the amount of the claim. It also covers the following types of cases where the claim is likely to exceed $60,000:

• personal injuries or death, medical, dental or legal professional negligence; • professional negligence claims against certified public accountants (practising), registered architects, registered professional engineers, registered professional surveyors, registered professional planners, authorised land surveyors, registered landscape architects and estate agents; • negligence claims against insurers or their intermediaries in respect of the taking out of personal insurance products; and • monetary claims against vendors in the sale of completed or uncompleted first-hand residential properties.

In 2018, there were 235 SLAS applications and 150 legal aid certificates were issued under SLAS.

SLAS is a self-financing scheme and is funded by contributions paid by the applicants upon acceptance of legal aid and contributions from monies recovered in the aided proceedings. The rates of contribution for personal injuries and employees' compensation claims and the provision of legal representation to employees for appeals against awards made by the Labour Tribunal range from 6% to 10%. For the remaining types of proceedings, the contribution rates range from 15% to 20%.

For the year ended 30 September 2018, a surplus of $5.0 million was recorded as compared with a deficit of $0.6 million in the year ended 30 September 2017 in the Supplementary Legal Aid Fund. As at 30 September 2018, the Fund had a balance of $197.3 million. For details, please refer to Appendix 1.

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Distribution of Civil Legal Aid Applications Received in 2017-2018

No. of Applications for Civil Legal Aid Case Types 2017 2018 % Change Personal Injuries Claims 5 496 5 166 -6% Matrimonial Cases 6 557 6 138 -6% Land and Tenancy Disputes 515 502 -3% Employment Disputes 86 62 -28% Immigration Matters 144 139 -3% Wage Claims 37 31 -16% Others 2 538 3 053 20% Total 15 373 15 091 -2%

Distribution of Civil Legal Aid Certificates Issued in 2017-2018

No. of Certificates for Civil Legal Aid Case Types 2017 2018 % Change Personal Injuries Claims 3 108 2 845 -8% Matrimonial Cases 2 816 2 635 -6% Land and Tenancy Disputes 88 103 17% Employment Disputes 32 8 -75% Immigration Matters 29 16 -45% Wage Claims 28 15 -46% Others 239 266 11% Total 6 340 5 888 -7%

Ms Tse Sze-fong Assistant Director of Legal Aid (Application and Processing)

To facilitate the public to apply for legal aid, the Application and Processing Division provides an information and enquiry service through the Information and Application Services Unit. The Unit deals with enquiries from the public on matters such as the scope of legal aid, financial eligibility limits and application procedures. In 2018, the Unit received a total of 36 375 enquiries.

Eligibility

Regardless of their nationality or residence, applicants who pass both the means and merits tests will be granted legal aid. They are given the services of solicitors and, if necessary, counsel to represent them in legal proceedings conducted in Hong Kong courts.

Take-up Rate for Civil Legal Aid in 2017-2018

Certificates Certificates 6 340 5 888 2017 2018 Offers Offers Take-up Rate 6 762 Take-up Rate 6 275 (as a % of offers) (as a % of offers) 94% 94%

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Legal aid applications for judicial review received and certificates granted by categories

Others Immigration matters Government policies and including related matters Government and Non-Government non-refoulement claims Calendar Year related Organization decisions related Organization decisions

Applications Certificates Applications Certificates Applications Certificates Applications Certificates received granted received granted received granted received granted

2017 135 18 860 9 45 2 6 0

2018 91 18 1 386 39 57 2 13 1

Miss Ada Wong Yiu-ming Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel / Application and Processing (1)

Refusal of Legal Aid

An applicant who is refused legal aid in civil matters on either means or merits may appeal to the Registrar of the High Court. In respect of the Court of Final Appeal cases, the applicant may appeal to a Review Committee comprising the Registrar of the High Court, a barrister and a solicitor appointed by the Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association and the President of the Law Society of Hong Kong respectively. The decision of the Registrar or the Review Committee is final.

Refusal Rate of Civil Legal Aid Applications in 2017-2018

Refusals Refusals (a) on merits (a) on merits 5 967 2017 2018 Applications 6 813 Applications Refusal Rate 15 373 15 091 (as a % of applications) Refusal Rate (as a % of applications) 39% 45% (b) on means (b) on means 939 920 Refusal Rate (as a % of applications) Refusal Rate (as a % of applications) 6% 6%

Success Rate of Civil Legal Aid Appeals in 2017-2018

Appeals Allowed Appeals Allowed # @ 40 2017 61 2018 Appeals* Appeals* Success Rate Success Rate 937 1 632 (as a % of appeals) (as a % of appeals) 4% 4%

Notes: * The figures do not include appeals withdrawn. # This figure covered group cases and connected cases. Legal aid appeals allowed in 2017 consisted of group cases that related to foreign domestic helpers’ claims of the same nature and immigration-related connected cases. @ This figure covered connected or related cases.

Civil Legal Aid Applications by Refusals and Outcomes of Legal Aid Appeals

Refusal Legal Aid Appeals Civil Legal Aid Calendar Year Applications on Merits* on Means* Heard Allowed

2016 14 733 5 294 786 750 28

2017 15 373 5 967 939 937 40#

2018 15 091 6 813 920 1 632 61@

*Refusal on both Merits and Means is included in Refusal "on Means" as well as Refusal “on Merits". #This figure covered group cases and connected cases. @ This figure covered connected or related cases.

20 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Chapter 2 Legal Aid Services

Ms Amy Lee Ngar-ling Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel / Application and Processing (2)

Legal Aid Applications for Judicial Review by Refusals and Outcomes of Legal Aid Appeals

Refusal Legal Aid Appeals Calendar Year Applications on Merits* on Means* Heard Allowed

2016 437 352 8 111 0

2017 1046 848 8 217 4

2018 1547 1519 8 763 14

*Refusal on both Merits and Means is included in Refusal “on Means" as well as Refusal “on Merits". Note : The statistics in the above tables are year based. A refusal or legal aid appeal may be related to a civil legal aid application made in the previous year. According to section 10(3) of the Legal Aid Ordinance, a person shall not be granted legal aid in connection with any proceedings unless he shows that he has reasonable grounds for taking, defending, opposing or continuing such proceedings or being a party thereto and may also refused legal aid where it appears to the Director of Legal Aid that it is unreasonable to grant legal aid. Regarding the legal merits test, the court does not have to be satisfied that it is more probable than not that the issue of fact will be decided in the legal aid applicant’s favour. But it has to be satisfied that the applicant has shown that there is a reasonable, as opposed to a fanciful, chance of the court at the trial deciding that issue of fact in his favour.

Outcome of Civil Cases Closed in 2018

Settlement Petition Order for before Dismissed Petition Petition Referral to Case Type Winding- up/ Others Total Issuing upon Stayed Dismissed PWIFB* Bankruptcy Petition settlement

Wage Claims (Winding-up / 1%(6%) 89%(86%) 0%(1%) 0%(1%) 1%(0%) 7%(1%) 2%(5%) 100% Bankruptcy)

* Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund Board (2017 figures in bracket)

Case Type Relief Obtained Relief Not Obtained Withdrawn Total

Matrimonial Cases 83%(84%) 4%(5%) 13%(11%) 100%

(2017 figures in bracket)

Discharged at Discharged / Discharged / Not In aided person's Case Types In Favour Revoked prior Revoked during Total Favour Request during to Proceedings Proceedings Proceedings

Personal Injuries Claims 94%(95%) 2%(1%) 1%(1%) 1%(1%) 2%(2%) 100% Employees' Compensation 96%(96%) 1%(1%) 1%(1%) 1%(1%) 1%(1%) 100% Claims Personal Injuries 93%(93%) 2%(1%) 2%(1%) 1%(2%) 2%(3%) 100%

Running Down 93%(95%) 1%(1%) 0%(2%) 2%(1%) 4%(1%) 100%

Medical / Dental / 76%(69%) 2%(2%) 6%(9%) 4%(2%) 12%(18%) 100% Professional Negligence

Miscellaneous 52%(56%) 21%(19%) 14%(9%) 3%(7%) 10%(9%) 100%

Overall 89%(89%) 4%(4%) 3%(2%) 1%(2%) 3%(3%) 100%

(2017 figures in bracket)

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Mr Jason Chan Mau-kwan Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel (Kowloon Branch Office)

Legal Aid in Criminal Cases

Criminal legal aid applications are processed by the Crime Section.

Distribution of Criminal Legal Aid Applications Received in 2017-2018

No. of Applications for Criminal Legal Aid

Case Types 2017 2018 % Change

Committal Proceedings in the Magistrates’ Courts 490 536 9%

District Court Trials 1 334 1 313 -2%

Court of First Instance Trials 476 452 -5%

Magistrates’ Court Appeals to the Court of First Instance 455 352 -23%

District Court Appeals to the Court of Appeal 296 261 -12%

Court of First Instance Appeals to the Court of Appeal 246 240 -2%

Appeals in the Court of Final Appeal 148 123 -17%

Others 26 37 42%

Total 3 471 3 314 -5%

Applicants whose means exceed the statutory limit may be granted legal aid if the Director of Legal Aid is satisfied that it is desirable in the interests of justice to grant legal aid.

Distribution of Criminal Legal Aid Certificates Issued in 2017-2018

No. of Certificates for Criminal Legal Aid Case Types 2017 2018 % Change Committal Proceedings in the Magistrates’ Courts 476 504 6% District Court Trials 1 273 1 236 -3% Court of First Instance Trials 477 441 -8% Magistrates’ Court Appeals to the Court of First Instance 65 35 -46% District Court Appeals to the Court of Appeal 59 53 -10% Court of First Instance Appeals to the Court of Appeal 74 63 -15% Appeals in the Court of Final Appeal 38 24 -37% Others 7 8 14% Total 2 469 2 364 -4%

Take-up Rate for Criminal Legal Aid in 2017-2018

Certificates Certificates 2 469 2 364 2017 2018 Offers Offers Take-up Rate 2 504 Take-up Rate 2 401 (as a % of offers) (as a % of offers) 99% 98%

24 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Chapter 2 Legal Aid Services

Ms Juliana Chan Oi-yung Deputy Director of Legal Aid (Litigation)

Refusal of Criminal Legal Aid

If an applicant is refused criminal legal aid on merits, he can apply to the judge who may grant legal aid on his own initiative provided the applicant is eligible on means.

In 2018, there were 13 refusals on means, all of which were also refused on merits. The Director exercised discretion and granted legal aid in 44 other cases even though the means of the applicants exceeded the financial eligibility limit. 10 applications were refused because the applicants concerned failed to supply the Director with the necessary information to conduct a means test.

Mr Steve Wong Yiu-fai Assistant Director of Legal Aid (Litigation)

For refusal in respect of an appeal to the Court of Final Appeal, the applicant may appeal to a Review Committee chaired by the Registrar of the High Court and comprising a barrister and a solicitor appointed by the Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association and by the President of the Law Society of Hong Kong respectively. The decision of the Committee is final. In 2018, no appeal was made to the Review Committee.

Ms Nancy Keung Mei Chuen Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel (Crime)

Refusal Rate of Criminal Legal Aid Applications in 2017-2018

Refusal on Merits Refusal on Merits 848 2017 745 2018 Applications Applications (Appeal cases) 3 471 (Appeal cases) 3 314 (834) (721)

(Other cases) (Other cases) (14) (24)

Refusal Rate (as a % of applications) Refusal Rate (as a % of applications) 24% 22%

Legal aid granted by judges notwithstanding Legal aid granted by judges notwithstanding the the Director of Legal Aid’s refusal Director of Legal Aid’s refusal 13 14

Refusal on Means (including refusals where applicants Refusal on Means (including refusals where applicants failed to provide necessary information on means) failed to provide necessary information on means) 30(16) 23(10)

Refusal Rate (as a % of applications) Refusal Rate (as a % of applications) 1% 1%

26 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Chapter 2 Legal Aid Services

Legal Aid Electronic Services Portal

Civil legal aid applicants of the age of 18 and over and all criminal legal aid applicants can access the Legal Aid Electronic Services Portal (LAESP) to submit pre-application information forms online for non-urgent civil or criminal cases as a first step towards making an application for legal aid.

The LAESP also has a means test calculator, which allows members of the public to conduct a preliminary assessment of their eligibility on means if they apply for legal aid. Members of the public can visit the departmental website at www.lad.gov.hk or the mobile phone version to access the means test calculator. In 2018, the means test calculator and its mobile version received 4751 and 8097 hits respectively.

Legal Aid Assignments and Monitoring

Assignments

When assigning legal aid cases, interest of the legally aided persons is the paramount consideration. Hence, legal aid work is not distributed to counsel or solicitors on the Legal Aid Panel equally. Counsel or solicitors are selected having regard to their level of experience and expertise, the nature and complexity of the particular case, with reference to established guidelines and criteria, which include, amongst others, minimum experience requirements, past performance records and the limit on assignments of legal aid work.

Distribution of Civil and Criminal Assignments to Solicitors / Counsel in 2018

No. of Counsel No. of Assignments *Below 3 Years *3-5 Years *6-10 Years *Over 10 Years

1-4 9 37 41 156 5-15 0 5 16 183 16-30 0 0 5 41 31-50 0 0 0 1 Over 50 0 0 0 0 Total 9 42 62 381

*Years of post-call experience

No. of Solicitors No. of Assignments *Below 3 Years *3-5 Years *6-10 Years *Over 10 Years 1-4 0 32 53 532 5-15 1 10 28 266 16-30 0 3 14 113 31-50 0 1 6 15 Over 50 0 0 0 1 Total 1 46 101 927

*Years of post-admission experience

The Department set up the Departmental Committee on Monitoring Assignments to Counsel and Solicitors to ensure that cases are assigned in accordance with the established assignment criteria and guidelines. The Committee is chaired by the Director of Legal Aid and comprises directorate officers of the Department. It considers reports on the unsatisfactory performance/conduct of assigned lawyers.

In 2018, on the advice of the Committee, one counsel and five solicitors were removed from the Legal Aid Panel, 22 solicitors were put on the Record of Unsatisfactory Performance/Conduct and advisory letter was issued to one solicitor.

Since the assignment of legal aid cases is based on the experience of Panel lawyers in the past three years, the Department regularly updates Panel lawyers’ experience to maintain the integrity of the legal aid assignment system. Panel lawyers are reminded to submit Data Update Form before the expiry of the three-year period so that their personal particulars, experience and expertise can be updated regularly.

Mediation in Legal Aid Cases

Legal aid covers mediators' fees and related expenses incurred by aided persons undergoing mediation in the course of the aided proceedings. In 2018, funding for mediation was approved in 919 assigned out cases, out of which 168 were matrimonial cases.

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Litigation Services

In-house Civil Litigation

The Civil Litigation Section (CLS) of the Litigation Division undertakes civil litigation for aided persons whose cases have been assigned in-house.

Ms Juliana Chan Miu-kuen Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel (Civil Litigation 1)

Personal Injury Litigation

In 2018, Civil Litigation (1) of CLS took up 180 personal injuries cases including employees' compensation claims, traffic accident claims and negligence claims. Damages over $1 million were recovered for aided persons in six cases. In one case, the damages recovered were over $15 million. The total amount of damages recovered was about $58 million.

Legal costs recovered for the professional litigation work done by Civil Litigation (1) of CLS were about $6.4 million.

Family Litigation

In 2018, the Family Unit of the Civil Litigation (2) of CLS took up a total of 837 family cases including divorce, maintenance, custody and property disputes. It also handled enforcement proceedings for the recovery of outstanding maintenance and costs in family cases litigated in-house.

Miss Doreen Chan Dao-kit Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel (Civil Litigation 2)

Wage Claims

The Insolvency Unit of the Civil Litigation (2) of CLS assists employees referred by the Labour Relations Office of the Labour Department to recover arrears of wages and other employment-related benefits. It also handles the ensuing winding-up or bankruptcy proceedings.

Where there is sufficient evidence to support the presentation of a petition for winding-up or bankruptcy but it is uneconomical or unreasonable in the particular circumstances to institute court proceedings, the Unit will refer the case to the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund Board for consideration of ex-gratia payments to the employees.

In 2018, the Insolvency Unit took out 15 winding-up and one bankruptcy petitions. A total of 316 cases were referred to the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund Board for ex-gratia payments.

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In-house Criminal Litigation

In addition to processing legal aid applications for criminal cases, in-house lawyers in the Crime Section of the Litigation Division also represent legally aided persons at committal proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court, plea day hearing in the District Court, listing hearings in the Court of First Instance as well as bail applications at all levels of court. They also act as instructing solicitors in cases in the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Final Appeal.

In 2018, 84% of all criminal cases in the District Court in Hong Kong were legally aided, as were 90.7% of criminal cases in the Court of First Instance.

In 2018, the Crime Section handled 1 382 cases in-house:

Court of First Instance of High Court Trials & Appeals 53(3.8%) No. District Court-Plea Days of cases 1 382 853(61.7%)

Committal Proceedings & Others 476(34.4%)

Total 1 382(100.0%)

(as a % of total cases handled in-house)

Mrs Christina Hadiwibawa Cheung Ying-man Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel (Legal and Management Support)

Related Legal Support Services

Costing

The Department’s Costing Unit assesses all bills of costs submitted by assigned solicitors and opposite parties, prepares lists of objections and bills and attends taxation hearings.

Cases handled by the Costing Unit in 2017-2018

12000 Assessments handled 10826 10063 Taxation hearings attended 10000 Lists of Objections and bills prepared

8000

6000

4000

2000

183 382 230 309 0 2017 2018

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Enforcement

The Department's Enforcement Unit (EU) handles enforcement proceedings for the recovery of judgment debts and costs in legally aided cases. In 2018, a total of 242 cases were assigned to the EU. In 136 cases, enforcement proceedings were instituted. About 44% of the proceedings were instituted within 1 month from the date the cases were assigned to the handling professional officers. The table below shows the length of time taken for enforcement proceedings to be commenced from the date of assignment:

Time taken for the commencement of enforcement proceedings in 2018 :

Within 1 month Within 2 months Within 3 months More than 3 months Total no. of cases 59(66) 56(57) 11(24) 10(7) 136(154) 44% (43%) 41%(37%) 8% (16%) 7% (4%) 100% (100%)

(2017 figures in bracket)

Some of these cases were settled prior to the commencement of or during the enforcement proceedings where the judgment debtors undertook, through negotiation and production of supporting documents, to pay the outstanding amount by installments.

The costs and damages recovery ratio for cases with enforcement actions handled by the Department and finalised in 2018 is as shown in the chart below:

Amount recovered 53% 2018 Amount not recovered 47%

Top 20 Solicitors in terms of Civil Case Assignments in 2018 by Case Types and Percentage Shares in the Total Number of Civil Case Assignments to Solicitors (From 1.1.2018 to 31.12.2018)

No. of Assignments by Case Types# Rank by order % Share PI-related JR MIM MAT Others Total 1 3 0 0 1 34 38 0.7% 2 37 0 0 0 0 37 0.7% 3 36 0 0 1 0 37 0.7% 4 33 0 0 4 0 37 0.7% 5 35 0 0 0 0 35 0.7% 6 31 0 0 4 0 35 0.7% 7 28 0 0 5 0 33 0.6% 8 33 0 0 0 0 33 0.6% 9 31 0 0 2 0 33 0.6% 10 33 0 0 0 0 33 0.6% 11 31 0 0 2 0 33 0.6% 12 31 0 0 1 0 32 0.6% 13 32 0 0 0 0 32 0.6% 14 31 0 0 1 0 32 0.6% 15 31 0 0 1 0 32 0.6% 16 30 0 0 1 0 31 0.6% 17 31 0 0 0 0 31 0.6% 18 31 0 0 0 0 31 0.6% 19 30 0 0 0 0 30 0.6% 20 22 0 0 2 6 30 0.6% Subtotal for Top 600 0 0 25 40 665 12.7% 20 Total no. of assignments to 2 992 61 18 1 846 303 5 220 100% solicitors in civil cases

Notes: The civil assignment limit for panel solicitor is 35 cases within the past 12 months. Figures may not add up to total due to rounding. # Case types: PI related - Employees' Compensation, Damages for Assault, Dental Negligence, Medical Negligence, Personal Injuries, Professional Negligence, Traffic Accident, SLAS Employees' Compensation, SLAS Medical Negligence, SLAS Personal Injuries and SLAS Running Down

JR - Judicial Review MIM - Immigration MAT - Matrimonial Others – Miscellaneous and Land or Tenancy Disputes Back to top

34 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Chapter 3 Case of Public Interest or Concern

Secretary for Justice v Wong Chi Fung, Law Kwun Chung and Chow Yong Kang Alex (FACC Nos. 8-10 of 2017)

As a result of the Tamar Central Government Offices Protests on 26 September 2014, thest 1 and 3rd Appellants in FACC 8, 9, 10/2017 were convicted at the Magistracy of taking part in an unlawful assembly contrary to s.18 of the Public Order Ordinance, Cap 245 (“POO”). The 2nd Appellant was convicted of inciting others to take part in an unlawful assembly. The 1st and 2nd Appellants were sentenced to 80 hours and 120 hours of community service respectively; and the 3rd Appellant was sentenced to 3 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for one year.

Upon the Secretary for Justice’s review, the Court of Appeal replaced the sentences with imprisonment of 6, 8 and 7 months for the 3 Appellants respectively. With the assistance of legal aid, all 3 Appellants appealed against the decision of the Court of Appeal. The Court of Final Appeal examined the following issues:

1. The Court of Appeal’s power to review facts on a review of sentence

According to s.81B of Criminal Procedures Ordinance (“CPO”), a review of sentence by the Secretary of Justice differs from an appeal of sentence by a convicted person. The Court of Appeal may only interfere with the sentence under review if it thinks that the sentence was (i) not authorised by law, (ii) wrong in principle, (iii) manifestly excessive, or (iv) manifestly inadequate.

Save where the sentence is manifestly inadequate, the Court of Appeal may not in the review attach a different weight to a factor which was properly taken into account by the sentencing judge in arriving at a sentence that is otherwise within the range of sentences appropriate for the offence.

The Court of Final Appeal did not agree with the Court of Appeal’s view that the Magistrate erred in principle by failing to take into account relevant matters. The Magistrate was aware of the large scale nature of the assembly, the risk of violent clashes, the Appellants’ knowledge of the likelihood of clashes between the participants and the security guards and the police, and the fact that there was a prior lawful assembly and that the protesters did not have an absolute right to enter the forecourt. The weight to be attached to the Appellants’ personal circumstances and their motives, their remorse, were strictly matters within the Magistrate’s discretion unless the sentences the Magistrate imposed were manifestly inadequate or out of line with the range of sentences imposed in practice.

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At the time of the sentences, there was no guidance from an appellate court that an immediate custodial sentence was warranted for cases of this nature, and a community service order was a sentence frequently passed in respect of unlawful assemblies. The Court of Final Appeal concluded that the Magistrate’s sentences were not manifestly inadequate.

2. Civil disobedience and the exercise of constitutional rights as motive

An offender’s motive for committing an offence is a relevant factor when the court considers the appropriate sentence to be imposed and can be a relevant mitigating factor. When an offence arises out of an occasion where constitutional rights to assemble and protest are being exercised, it is relevant to the background and context of the offending, particularly when those right were exercised peacefully and in accordance with the law up to the point when the offence was committed. However, a conviction of the offence will necessarily means that the offender had crossed the line separating the lawful exercise of constitutional rights from unlawful activity subject to sanctions and constraints, and so there is little merit in a plea for leniency on the ground that the offender was merely exercising his constitutional rights, since there is no constitutional justification for violent unlawful behaviour.

On civil disobedience as a mitigating factor, which is recognisable in Hong Kong, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that civil disobedience can broadly consist of (a) breaches of a particular law which is believed to be unjust by the offender, or (b) law-breaking done in order to protest against perceived injustice or in order to effect change in either the law or society. The offender’s conscientious objections and genuine beliefs attributing either type of behaviour may be taken into consideration as the motive for the offending. Civil disobedience as generally understood also requires the protester to expect and accept punishment, and the action carried out to be peaceful and non-violent.

In the present appeals, the acts of civil disobedience were committed in the course of protesting against the Government’s proposals for constitutional reform. The acts involved violence and were not peaceful. Thus, a plea for leniency at the stage of sentencing on the ground of civil disobedience should therefore carry little weight.

3. Approach when the Court of Appeal gives guidance in sentencing for future cases

Based on the established principle of legal certainty, the sentence for an offence should be in accordance with the sentencing practice prevailing at the time of the commission of the offence. However, the public order offences of which the Appellants were guilty of were offences where there had been no established guidelines or tariffs of sentence. In the Secretary of Justice’s application for review of sentence, the Court of Appeal was invited to lay down guidelines in the sentences of such offences. The Court of Final Appeal recognised the Court of Appeal’s responsibilities for providing sentencing guidelines for future cases. Although the Court of Appeal did not lay down any fixed starting point of sentence for the offences, it emphasised the need to take a much stricter view where disorder and any degree of violence was involved in large scale unlawful assembly cases. The Court of Appeal sent the message that unlawful assemblies involving violence, even the relatively low degree of violence that occurred in the present appeals, will not be condoned and may justifiably attract sentences of immediate imprisonment in the future. Greater culpability is also to be attached to those who have participated in violent acts, incited others to commit the offence, or have encouraged the unlawful assembly for example by virtue of their status or leadership of others joining the assembly.

The Court of Final Appeal endorsed the sentencing principles laid down by the Court of Appeal and the list of sentencing factors it considered to be relevant for unlawful assembly involving violence. However, The Court of Final Appeal considered it inappropriate to apply the Court of Appeal’s guidance to the Appellants in these appeals to avoid imposing significantly more severe sentences on them retrospectively based on the new sentencing guideline.

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4. The relevance of youth in sentencing and s.109A of the CPO

This issue solely related to the 1st Appellant’s appeal. s.109A of the CPO obliges a sentencing court when considering the appropriate sentence to be imposed on an offender aged between 16 and 21 years of age, to obtain and consider information about the circumstances of the young offender, the offence and his suitability for particular types of punishment, as well as information which is relevant to the young offender’s character and physical and mental condition.

The Court of Final Appeal held that the Magistrate was plainly entitled to take s.109A of the CPO into account when sentencing. As the sentencing court, the Court of Appeal was under a duty to consider all non-imprisonment sentencing options if it had been entitled to review the sentences of the Magistrate under s.109A of the CPO.

While the requirement to obtain information is not absolute and there may be circumstances where it will be clear without the need to obtain further information and the only appropriate sentence is imprisonment, the present offence of taking part in an unlawful assembly was certainly not one of those cases. The Court of Appeal therefore erred in dispensing with the need to consider other sentencing options and in not following the requirements of s.109A.

After considering the submission by the parties, the Court of Final Appeal unanimously allowed all three appeals, quashed the sentences of imprisonment imposed by the Court of Appeal and reinstated those imposed by the Magistrate. However, the Court of Final Appeal reminded that offenders in future cases will be subject to the new sentencing guidelines set by the Court of Appeal in large scale unlawful assemblies involving violence.

QT v Director of Immigration (FACV No. 1 of 2018)

QT is a British national. In May 2011, QT and her partner, SS, entered into a same-sex civil partnership in England under the UK’s Civil Partnership Act 2004. SS was later offered employment in Hong Kong and was granted an employment visa to come and work here. In late 2011, the couple entered Hong Kong, SS on the strength of the employment visa and QT as a visitor. In 2014, QT submitted an application for a dependant visa but was rejected by the Director of Immigration (“the Director”). The Director found QT ineligible to be considered for the dependant visa because she was outside the existing policy which was to admit a spouse as a dependant only if he or she was a party to a monogamous marriage consisting of one male and one female (“the Policy”).

With the assistance of legal aid, QT commenced the judicial review proceedings seeking to quash the Director’s decision, arguing, among other things, that the Director’s decision was unreasonable in the public law sense as it was discriminatory against her on sexual orientation grounds that were not justified. Her application for judicial review was dismissed by the Court of First Instance.

Legal aid was granted to QT to appeal against the judgment of the Court of First Instance. At the appeal, whilst the Director argued that excluding same-sex married partners or civil partners as spouses under the Policy did not constitute discrimination on any prohibited or suspect ground, the Director contended in the alternative that such differential treatment could be justified in pursuing the legitimate aims of striking a balance between (a) to encourage people with needed skills and talent to join Hong Kong’s workforce, accompanied by their dependants; and (b) to maintain a system of effective and stringent immigration control. To achieve the said legitimate aims, the Director adopted the marital status as defined by Hong Kong’s matrimonial law as the guideline which provides for legal certainty and administrative workability and convenience. The Court of Appeal found that although the aims of attracting talent and immigration control were legitimate, the Policy which restricted the eligibility requirement to heterosexual married couples and excluded same-sex married partners or civil partners was not rationally connected to that aim and the Director failed to justify the discriminatory treatment. The Court of Appeal unanimously allowed QT’s appeal.

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On the Director’s application, the Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal on the ground that the appeal involved questions of great general or public importance. Legal aid was further granted to QT to defend the appeal. Those questions were summarised as follows:

“(1) Given that same-sex marriage or civil partnership is not legally recognized in Hong Kong on all levels (constitutional, statutory and common law), and accordingly the denial of the right to marry to same-sex couples does not constitute discrimination on account of sexual orientation, whether this is an absolute bar to a claim of discrimination on account of sexual orientation when the differential treatment is based on marital status (as recognized under Hong Kong law) in all contexts.

(2) Given that the status of marriage (as recognized under Hong Kong law) carries with it certain special and privileged rights and obligations unique to and inherent in marriage (‘core rights and obligations’), which are not open to all other persons including unmarried same-sex couples who cannot get married under Hong Kong law, and any differential treatment based on marital status in the context of such core rights and obligations requires no justification, whether immigration (in particular, the eligibility of a person in a same-sex marriage or civil partnership recognized under a system of foreign law for a dependent visa based necessarily on a spousal relationship with the sponsor) falls within these core rights and obligations.

(3) If justification for a differential treatment in the context of immigration (in particular, the eligibility of a person in a same-sex marriage or civil partnership recognized under a system of foreign law for a dependent visa based necessarily on a spousal relationship with the sponsor) based on marital status is required: (a) what is the appropriate standard of scrutiny to be applied; and (b) whether the Director of Immigration has justified the difference in treatment for eligibility for dependant visa.”

The Court of Final Appeal made it clear that this appeal did not involve any claim that same-sex couples have a right to marry under Hong Kong law. The Court recognized that a valid marriage is a “voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others”. Marriage in this jurisdiction is therefore heterosexual and monogamous. Rather, the two main contested issues were: (i) whether there was a differential treatment of QT under the Policy which was discriminatory; and (ii) if so, whether such discriminatory treatment could be justified.

The Director is vested with powers to impose time limits and other conditions on a person’s stay in Hong Kong. It is pursuant to those powers that the Director operates the Policy. Although his powers are expressed in very wide terms, the Director accepted that in implementing the Policy, he was constrained to exercise them in accordance with what had been referred to as “the principle of equality”. However, the Director’s primary stance was that there was an obvious difference that exists between marriage and a civil partnership and the discriminatory treatment under the Policy needed no justification.

The Court of Final Appeal found that discrimination is the antithesis of rational equal treatment and unlawful discrimination is fundamentally unacceptable. The task of the courts has been to establish principles for determining when distinctions drawn by legal or administrative measures are rational and fair and when such distinctions constitute unlawful discrimination. The Court examined in details three main categories of discrimination and the Civil Partnership Act 2004 which governs the relationship between QT and SS under English law and accepted that the Act confers on those who have entered into a civil partnership similar rights, benefits and material advantages to those enjoyed by married couples. The Court rejected the Director’s assertion that an obvious difference existed between marriage and a civil partnership and it was untenable as a basis for precluding scrutiny of the Policy’s justification.

In answering the three questions raised at the appeal, the Court of Final Appeal found that the relevance and weight to be attributed to a person’s marital status was taken into account in considering whether a particular difference in treatment was justified as fair and rational, and that a person’s marital condition could not determine presumptively that discrimination did not exist and is not an absolute bar to a claim of discrimination.

On the second and third questions regarding the approach to the need for justification for differential treatment, the Court of Final Appeal held that the Court of Appeal’s approach which was based on marital status and ‘core rights and obligations’ should not be followed. Instead, the correct approach is to examine every alleged case of discrimination to see if the difference in treatment can be justified by applying the proportionality test and in the present case would be the standard of reasonable necessity. It was found that the Director had not justified the differential treatment in the present case.

The Court of Final Appeal held that denying homosexual workers the ability to bring their partners with them ran counter against the aim of encouraging people with skills and talent to come to Hong Kong. As was evident from the attempted intervention of a group of financial institutions and law firms for leave to file submissions in support of the Court of Appeal’s judgment, the ability to bring in dependants is an important issue for persons deciding whether to move to Hong Kong. The policy was counter-productive and plainly not rationally connected to advancing the “talent” or “immigration control” aims. The Court of Final Appeal unanimously dismissed the Director’s appeal.

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The Department is committed to developing and maintaining a highly-motivated, caring and responsive workforce and keeps finding ways to better its performance through a customer- focused approach when delivering its services.

Performance Pledges

Processing of Applications

In 2018, the Department's actual performance in meeting the various targets set for processing time is set out below:

Actual Performance Types of Applications Standard Processing Time Performance in Targets 2018

Civil Legal Aid Within 3 months from the date of application 85% 90%

Criminal Legal Aid Appeals

- Appeal against Within 2 months from the date of application 90% 92% sentence

- Appeal against Within 3 months from the date of application 90% 92% conviction

Trials in the Court of First Instance of the Within 10 working days from the date of 90% 90% High Court / District application Court

Within 8 working days from the date of Committal proceedings 90% 93% application

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Payment to Aided Persons and Service Providers

In 2018-2019, the Department paid out $ 806.5 million to lawyers/experts/other parties and $ 1,310 million to legally aided persons. During the year, the Department exceeded all performance targets on payment:

Actual Performance Payment Targets Service Delivery Standard Performance in Targets 2018

Interim Payment 95% 99% Within 1 month from receipt of monies due to the aided person and/or receipt of estimation of costs from the assigned solicitor, whichever is appropriate. Aided Persons Final Payment 95% 99% Within 6 weeks from date of agreement of all costs and disbursements related to the case, and receipt of all monies due to the aided person and the Director of Legal Aid.

Advance Payment 95% 99% Within 6 weeks from receipt of bill.

Balance Payment 95% 98% Lawyers / Experts / Within 6 weeks from date of agreement of Other Parties all costs and disbursements related to the case, or receipts of all monies due to the aided person and the Director of Legal Aid, whichever is later.

Analysis of Legal Aid Costs by Nature of Expenditure

2017-2018 2018-2019 Nature of Expenditure ($M) ($M)

Solicitors Costs 387.3 437.8

Counsel Fees 197.9 258.1

Doctors Fees 9.5 8.8

Opposite Party Costs 41.6 44.0

Others (Note) 56.1 57.8

Total 692.4 806.5

Note: These include expenses for land and company searches, court fees and taxing fees, law costs draftsman fees, expert fees, copying charges, bank charges and miscellaneous expenses.

Customer Feedback

With a view to enhancing our provision of services to the public, the Department regularly conducts comprehensive surveys on customer feedback on different aspects of the legal aid services. The surveys cover application and processing procedures for legal aid and the Department's in-house litigation services. Different methodologies such as on the spot collection and mail surveys have been used depending on the points of contact and on the stages and types of services rendered to customers. The overall customer satisfaction level remained high in 2018. The charts at Appendix 2 illustrate the major findings of the survey on customer feedback.

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Customer Service Initiatives

Enquiries, Complaints and Representations

The Department places great importance on enquiries, complaints and representations received from our customers. Customers’ concerns and suggestions are viewed by the Department as a means of improving its service and ensuring the fulfillment of its statutory functions. The Departmental Customer Service Manager, who is a senior directorate, would meet with a team of Assistant Customer Service Managers and Officers regularly to review feedback on our services and recommend follow up actions where necessary.

Complaints

The Assistant Director of Legal Aid (Policy and Development) is the designated Complaint Liaison Officer to coordinate the handling of all the complaints received. Members of the public may lodge complaints in person with the Customer Service Officers of individual sections or by telephone or in writing to the Department by post, email or by fax. All complaints received will be handled according to the Department's complaint handling mechanism which is in compliance with the Government's general complaint handling guidelines. The Department will investigate and handle all complaints impartially and expeditiously. In general, an interim reply will be given within 10 days after the receipt of a complaint, and a substantive reply will be given within 30 days.

Representations

To qualify for legal aid, applicants must pass both the means and merits tests. If anyone believes that a person should not have been given legal aid on means and/or merits, he can write to us and let us know the reasons. The Application and Processing Division is responsible for conducting review of representations against grants of legal aid on merits. Representations against grants of legal aid on means are handled by the Special Duties and Research Unit. The Department has published a leaflet to explain the investigation system and to address frequently asked questions. Please visit http://www.lad.gov.hk/eng/ documents/ppr/publication/Not_Happy_en.pdf to view the leaflet.

In 2018, the Special Duties and Research Unit received 51 representations against grants of legal aid on means and completed investigation in 38 cases. 15 cases were referred to the police for investigation as to whether any offence was committed under Section 23 of the Legal Aid Ordinance, Cap. 91, and in five cases, whether an offence was also committed under Section 18A of the Theft Ordinance, Cap. 210; and in nine cases, whether an offence was also committed under Section 36 of Crimes Ordinance, Cap. 200, in addition to the two aforementioned Ordinances.

Means representation received and outcomes of investigation concluded in 2017 and 2018:

53 Year 2017 51 Year 2018 50

40 37

20 17 15

1 0 0 No. of representations No. of unsubstantiated No. of substantiated No. of non-pursuable received representations representations representations

LAD’s Hotline Service - the Interactive Voice Response System

The Department's hotline service provides a fast and convenient means for the public to learn about the legal aid services. It has pre-recorded messages in Cantonese, Putonghua and English on different aspects of legal aid services. The popular ones are application procedures, eligibility criteria for civil and criminal legal aid, the aided person's liability to contribute towards the costs of aided proceedings etc. Where necessary, callers can speak to a staff member of the Department who will answer their enquiries concerning legal aid during office hours.

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The Department is committed to ensure that no one who qualifies for legal aid is denied access to justice because of lack of means. Every year the Department organises or participates in various activities to enhance the public's awareness and knowledge of the legal aid services provided by the Department.

Promotional Activities 2018 Law Week

As in the past, the Department sponsored and participated in the organization of the annual territory-wide event Law Week 2018, which was launched by The Law Society of Hong Kong at Kowloonbay International Trade and Exhibition Centre on 17 November 2018. The Opening Ceremony was attended by the Honourable Chief Justice, Mr Justice Geoffrey Ma; the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan; the Legislative Council Member, the Honourable Mr Dennis Kwok; the President of The Law Society of Hong Kong, Ms Melissa Pang; and the Chairman of Legal Aid Services Council, Dr Eric Li and the Director of Legal Aid, Mr Thomas Kwong.

The Director of Legal Aid, Mr Thomas Kwong (third right), officiated at the opening ceremony of Law Week 2018 and Teen Talk 2018 on 17 November 2018. Also officiating at the opening ceremony were the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, the Hon Mr Justice Geoffrey Ma (sixth right); the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan (fourth right); the President of The Law Society of Hong Kong, Ms Melissa Pang (fifth right); the Legislative Council Member, Mr Dennis Kwok (fourth left) and the Chairman of Legal Aid Services Council, Dr Eric Li (third left).

In October 2018, the Department set up a booth in a “Free Legal Advice Programme” at the open area of Hopewell Centre in Wan Chai organised by the Law Society. 16 professional officers participated and answered enquires on legal aid services from the public.

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Access to Justice InnoTech Law Hackathon

The Department participated in the first Access to Justice InnoTech Law Hackathon organized by The Law Society of Hong Kong in 2018. The Hackathon was a two-day competition for professionals, students and interested members to design and develop technology-enabled solutions to address issues in community justice and legal services. Director of Legal Aid, Mr Thomas Kwong, officiated at the opening ceremony on 7 April 2018 and six professional officers also participated as mentors and panel judge in the Hackathon activities held on 7 and 8 April 2018 in Cyberport.

2018 Asia Pro Bono Conference

In October 2018, the Department participated in the 2018 Asia Pro Bono Conference held in Hong Kong and delivered a talk on “Who needs pro bono” at one of the keynote sessions. The Department lent its support in promoting the availability of legal services to the general public in Asia and beyond.

Promotion of Legal Aid Services through the media

In July 2018, Legal Aid Counsel (Legal and Management Support), Miss Anna Tsang (second left), and Senior Law Clerk II (Legal and Management Support), Ms Angie Chan (third left) gave a radio interview to RTHK5’s「奮發時刻DSE」programme on legal aid service in Hong Kong and the work of Legal Aid Counsel and Law Clerk. The programme was co-organised by RTHK and Hok Yau Club. The feedback was very positive.

Promotion of Legal Aid Services to Legal Practitioners

The Department places great importance on working in partnership with the legal profession to deliver quality legal aid services to the public. To enhance the legal profession's understanding and knowledge of our services, the Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel (Legal and Management Support), Mrs Christina Hadiwibawa, delivered a CPD course on the update on Legal Aid Schemes in June 2018. The course was attended by 135 legal practitioners.

Promotion of Legal Aid Services to External Bodies/Organizations

In 2018, we met with a number of counterpart organisations from overseas and the Mainland to exchange views on issues of common interest in legal aid work and spoke on the latest development of legal aid in Hong Kong.

In mid January 2018, Director of Legal Aid, Mr Thomas Kwong and two Deputy Directors of Legal Aid Department, Ms Juliana Chan (Litigation) and Ms Y W Mo (Application and Processing) met with Ms Holly Kwan, Consul (Consulate General of Canada), Mr Joshua Strehle, Consular & Passports Manager (Australian Consulate-General), Ms Jannie Kam, British Pro-Consul (British Consulate-General) and Mr James J. Jay Junior, Consul (U.S. Consulate General) to exchange views on the provision and latest development of legal aid services in Hong Kong.

In late January 2018, Director of Legal Aid, Mr Thomas Kwong, together with Deputy Director of Legal Aid (Administration), Mr Chris Chong, Deputy Director of Legal Aid (Litigation), Ms Juliana Chan, and Acting Deputy Director of Legal Aid (Application and Processing), Ms Y W Mo met with Dr Wang Zhen Min, Director-General of Department of Law of Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in HKSAR to exchange views on the provision of legal aid services in Hong Kong.

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In March 2018, Director of Legal Aid, Mr Thomas Kwong and Deputy Director of Legal Aid (Administration), Mr Chris Chong met with Mr Lu Weidong, Director of Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice to introduce the legal aid services in Hong Kong.

In addition, the Department also received the following groups/delegations in 2018:

Mainland officials from Guizhou Province

A delegation of Mainland lawyers and officials from Shanghai

Mainland - Officials Mainland officials under the Training Scheme in Common Law

Two groups of Mainland Senior Chinese Judges

Mainland officials from the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Justice

Two groups of law students and/or professors from the China University of Political Science and Law

A group of law students and teachers from the Zhejiang University of Technology Mainland - Academics A group of law students and teachers from the South China University of Technology

Law students from the Peking University and the Renmin University of China

Two groups of secondary school students from different local schools

Local – Academics A group of non-Chinese speaking secondary school students

Law students from the University of Hong Kong

Mr Lee Ju-young, the Deputy Speaker of National Assembly of the Liberty Party Overseas - Officials Korea, South Korea

Please visit http://www.lad.gov.hk/eng/wnew/event.html for the details and photos of the events. Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. 53 Chapter 5 Publicity Programmes

Reaching out to the Community

In mid January 2018, Acting Senior Legal Aid Counsel (Kowloon Branch Office), Ms Joyce Leung, hosted a talk for over 30 social workers and frontline staff of Po Leung Kuk Tsui Lam Centre and introduced the work and services of the Legal Aid Department relating to family issues including divorce, maintenance, child custody and guardianship of minor.

In late January 2018, Acting Senior Legal Aid Counsel (Application and Processing), Mr Ivan Yim, Legal Aid Counsel (Application and Processing), Mr Jet Luk, and Senior Law Clerk I (Application and Processing), Mr John Chu, hosted a talk for over 130 participants and introduced legal aid services relating to employees’ compensation and personal injuries at work. The talk was organised by the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions.

In March 2018, Legal Aid Counsel (Application and Processing), Ms Katrina Ng, and Acting Senior Law Clerk I (Kowloon Branch Office), Mr Philip Leung, delivered a talk to 120 social workers and frontline staff from the Social Welfare Department and other non-governmental organisations on the work and services of the Department relating to family issues including divorce, maintenance and notes on referring recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance to apply for legal aid.

In April 2018, Acting Senior Legal Aid Counsel (Kowloon Branch Office), Miss Eliza Ching, and Senior Law Clerk I (Application and Processing), Mr Ivan Lee, hosted a talk for 40 participants and introduced legal aid services relating to employees’ compensation and personal injuries at work. The talk was organised by the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions.

In June 2018, Senior Legal Aid Counsel (Civil Litigation 2), Ms Janet Fung, and Legal Aid Counsel (Application and Processing), Ms Katrina Ng, hosted a talk for about 120 social workers and frontline staff from the Social Welfare Department, Hospital Authority and non-governmental organisations and introduced the Department’s work and legal aid services relating to family issues including divorce, maintenance, child custody and guardianship of minor.

In August 2018, Acting Senior Legal Aid Counsel (Kowloon Branch Office), Ms Rita Chin, and Senior Law Clerk I (Kowloon Branch Office), Mr Ivan Lee, hosted a talk for about 20 participants and introduced legal aid services relating to employees’ compensation and personal injuries at work. The talk was organised by the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions.

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In December 2018, Senior Legal Aid Counsel (Civil Litigation 2), Ms Ada Chau, hosted a talk for about 100 social workers and frontline staff from the Social Welfare Department and non-governmental organisations and introduced the Department’s work and legal aid services relating to family issues including divorce, maintenance, child custody and guardianship of minor.

The Department delivered talks to educational institutions and arranged special briefings for students from youth programmes including non-Chinese speaking students with a view to strengthening career and life planning education for youths. Three special briefings each comprised a court hearing were arranged for the CLAP for Youth @JC Programme in March and April 2018 and the Caritas Youth & Community Service's Mentorship Alliance of “MDPP+” in June 2018 respectively. In addition, the Department arranged two career talks for University students to introduce the operation of the Department and the daily work of Legal Aid Counsel and Law Clerks.

Furthermore, the Department provides hands-on experience for students who joined the Post-secondary Students Summer and Winter Internship Programmes and Sunnyway Programme. The participants under the Post- secondary Students Summer and Winter Internship Programmes joined the Department for about two weeks to two months and learned about legal aid work. On the other hand, the Sunnyway Programme enhanced the employment of persons with disabilities through proactive training provided by the Department over a 3-month period. In 2018, the Department recruited 6 summer interns and 9 winter interns under the Post-secondary Students Summer and Winter Internship Programmes and 2 trainees under the Sunnyway Programme.

Updating of Departmental Leaflets

The Department published a new issue of LAD News to introduce the Department’s new initiatives and services. The newsletter was distributed to the stakeholders and visiting guests. The Department also published and regularly updated a series of leaflets including the provision of QR codes for examples of means test calculation in the “How Your Financial Resources and Contribution are Calculated” leaflet, whereby the QR codes provide an easy and environmental friendly access to the latest information on financial eligibility for legal aid.

Other publications such as the Financial Information Sheet, which contained comprehensive information on financial eligibility, deductible personal allowances, contributions payable by an aided person towards the costs of litigation and the Director's First Charge were also revised to reflect changes implemented in 2018.

A list of publications of the Department is at Appendix 5.

Further Measures to Combat Improper Touting Activities

As a measure to further combat improper touting activities of claims recovery agents among injured workers and accident victims, the Department arranged the TV API on anti-touting activities produced by the Department of Justice to be broadcast in three waiting areas of the Department from 1 August 2018 to 31 July 2019, including Information & Application Services (IASU) of Application & Processing Division and Crime Section of Litigation Division on 25/F of Queensway Government Offices; and IASU of Kowloon Branch Office. The Department also displayed the poster on anti-touting activities in various offices and arranged the poster to be displayed at Accident & Emergency Departments of 18 public hospitals, District Social Welfare Offices of Social Welfare Department, offices of Labour Department’s Employees’ Compensation Division, Home Affairs Enquiry Centres, community centres and community halls.

Website

The Department regularly updates the contents of its website to provide comprehensive and timely information to the public and legal aid practitioners. In 2018, the Department continued enhancing the homepage to meet with the latest requirements of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer.

56 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Chapter 6 Organisation, Administration and Staffing

The Department has three Divisions, namely the Application and Processing Division, the Litigation Division and the Policy and Administration Division, each headed by a Deputy Director. The organisation chart can be found at the departmental website at http://www.lad.gov.hk/eng/ginfo/oo.html.

Staffing

At the end of 2018, the Department had 542 staff members comprising 80 professional officers, 172 law clerks and 290 supporting staff. Nine Legal Aid Counsel and 19 Law Clerks were newly recruited.

Mr Chris Chong Yan-tung Deputy Director of Legal Aid (Policy and Administration)

Training and Development

The Department is committed to developing and maintaining a highly-motivated and professional work team to provide quality services to our customers. Every year the Department arranges various general and professional training courses for our staff of all levels to equip them with the latest knowledge and skills needed to face the challenges ahead. The Training Unit, which is headed by a Senior Training Officer, is responsible for formulating, implementing and reviewing the Department's training and development policies and plans to meet the operational and development needs of the staff.

58 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Chapter 6 Organisation, Administration and Staffing

Professional Training

To keep our professional officers abreast of the changes and development in the relevant legislation and law, the Department sponsored 47 professional officers to attend external seminars including Data Protection and Data Access Request, Assessment of Damages in Fatal Accident Cases, Cross-Border Child Custody Evaluation and Family Mediation, Crossing the Payne Barrier – Is there A Price to Pay For International Families, Financial Issues on Divorce and Practical Tips in Handling Divorce, Law Lectures for Practitioners 2018, Liability in Slip and Trip and Pedestrian Traffic Accidents, Personal Injury Litigation: Practice & Procedure, Review and Update on Insolvency Recovery Actions, Sanctioned Offers and Sanctioned Payments, Techconnect Forum, Telling Your Client’s Story - A Post Child Protection Conference, The Change of the Face of International Child Abduction, The HCCH 125 – Ways Forward: Challenges and Opportunities in an Increasingly Connected World, Civil Law Talk by Dr Jimmy Ma, Civil Law Talk by Professor Christopher Forsyth, and Civil Law Talk by Professor Judith Sihombing.

To promote exchanges with the Mainland counterparts, two professional officers attended the LOCPG Short Course on Mainland Legal Studies Course at the Peking University coordinated by the Department of Justice.

Management Training Courses

To strengthen staff's management capability, 10 professional officers were nominated to attend management courses organised by the Civil Service Training and Development Institute, Civil Service Bureau (CSTDI, CSB). Courses included Negotiations – Strategies and Processes for Impactful Outcomes, Leading High-Performance Organisations, Positive Leadership for Innovation, Pre-crisis Management, People Management in the Public Sector, Positive Communication to Achieve Influence, Persuasion and Influencing, Presentation Skills for Occasional Speakers, and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

For executive development, five professional officers were nominated to attend executive development programmes organised by CSTDI, CSB, namely Advanced Leadership Enhancement Programme, Leadership in Action Programme and Innovative Leadership Programme.

Customer Service Training

The Department places great importance in nurturing a customer focused culture. To enhance staff’s skills in delivering quality service to the public, the Department organized an in-house Customer Service Workshop. A total of 24 colleagues attended. We also nominated staff of different ranks to attend relevant courses held by CSTDI, CSB. In 2018, 18 staff members, including general grade staff, attended the following courses: Workshop on Quality Customer Service, Customer Service Skills on the Telephone, Effective Putonghua for Quality Service, Enhanced Communication in English for Customer Service, Handling Confrontational Situations in Customer Service, Handling Complaints and Difficult Situations, Building Relationships with Teammates and Customers, and Seminar on Accessibility Issues.

Staff Well-being and General Training

The Department is committed to promoting staff well-being. In 2018, two in-house workshops on “From Mindfulness to Positive Thinking” and “Chinese Dietary Therapy against Urban Diseases” were held, with an attendance of 103 staff members.

Apart from the above, 173 staff members were nominated to attend courses and seminars organised by CSTDI, CSB and other departments on a wide range of topics that aimed at enhancing staff’s work capability and career development. The courses included Information Security, Enhancement of Court Security Measures at High Court, Induction Course, Personal Data Protection, First Aid, Automated External Defibrillators, Prevention and Handling of Workplace Violence, Occupational Safety, Use of Language, Official Writing, Government Financial Management, Basic Law, Pre-retirement Seminar, Supervisory Skills, Performance Management System, Performance Appraisal Writing, Misconduct and Corruption in the Public Sector, and Seminar Series on Chinese Wisdom and computer-related courses .

Furthermore, eight professional officers attended national studies programmes held at the Chinese Academy of Governance, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Nanjing University and Zhejiang University.

60 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Chapter 6 Organisation, Administration and Staffing

Promoting Self-Learning and Development: In-house Learning Resource Centre

To cultivate the culture of continuous self-learning, the Department maintains a comprehensive collection of books available to our staff. The collection covers a wide range of topics including general management, communication, use of language, national studies, personal development, positive thinking, stress management and healthy lifestyles. Every year, new books are added to the Learning Resource Centre to further enrich the collection.

To facilitate easy access to self-learning materials by staff, resources on IT tips as well as reference materials on training courses are uploaded onto the departmental portal. Staff also have direct access to CLC Plus, the e-learning portal for civil servants, which contains a variety of self-learning resources, toolkits and job aids on management, language, Basic Law, communication, information technology, etc.

Information Systems

The Department's Case Management and Case Accounting System (CM&CAS) supports over 500 staff users in handling day-to-day legal aid business processes such as processing applications, monitoring assigned out cases and handling legal aid payments. To cope with technology advancement and to improve the system to meet future operational needs, a feasibility study for revamping the system was undergoing in 2018.

The Legal Aid Electronic Services Portal (LAESP) provides an online gateway through which members of the public and Panel lawyers can gain access to information and transact certain legal aid business with the Department online. Members of the public can access the LAESP to download and submit legal aid Pre- application Information Forms to the Department as a first step towards making an application for legal aid.

With effect from January 2018, the intended applicants can use our online service through the LAESP to make advance appointment with our staff to obtain the Pre-application Information Forms before visiting our Headquarters or Kowloon Branch Office. Our system provides 30 calendar days’ advance booking and can greatly save their queuing time. The development work for the mobile phone version of the online booking function commenced in the third quarter of 2018 with a target rollout date in early 2019.

To streamline the submission of Pre-application Information Forms or Legal Aid Panel Entry Forms through the LAESP, we enhanced the system in June 2018. The requirement of e-cert authentication was replaced by Captcha as the security measure. It aims to encourage more intended applicants and panel lawyers to access legal aid services via the e-channel.

Ms Doris Lui Wai-lan Assistant Director of Legal Aid (Policy & Development)

Staff Relations and Communication

The Department maintains effective communication with staff through regular meetings with various staff representative bodies such as the Departmental Consultative Committees, the Law Clerks Association and the Legal Aid Counsel Association. Resulting from the discussions at these meetings, improvements have been made concerning office accommodation, streamlining of working procedures, indoor air quality and human resources planning, etc.

The Director of Legal Aid visited each section throughout the year with a view to exchanging ideas with staff of all levels including professional officers and receiving their views on work arrangements and procedures for further review and improvement. Divisions/Sections continued to implement their respective internal communication strategies in consultation with staff. Informal meetings were also held between the Deputy Director of Legal Aid (Policy and Administration) and Senior Law Clerks I and II and general grades staff regularly to collect their views on work and to explore areas for improvement.

Staff Suggestions Scheme

Staff Suggestions Scheme was launched to encourage colleagues to make suggestions to the Department. It aims to facilitate the improvement and streamlining of the Department's operation and management, promote Department's image, arouse staff morale and occupational safety, thereby enhancing work efficiency. Our colleagues provided many useful and practical suggestions such as mini thank-you cards, e-fax, conference room e-booking system, regular health tips to colleagues, etc. The suggestions were carried out in the Department accordingly.

62 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Chapter 6 Organisation, Administration and Staffing

Staff Welfare

The Department values the general well-being of its staff. The objective of the Staff Club is to promote staff welfare by organising a wide range of activities and to provide opportunities where staff can meet and interact whilst engaging in relaxing and enriching activities.

To provide staff with opportunities to keep a healthy balance between work and relaxation, Yoga classes were held regularly. Recreational activities including the Annual Dinner, table tennis competition and mini bazaars to celebrate Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival were also held. Interest classes such as dessert making and bakery classes proved to be very popular among staff.

During the year, the Volunteer Service Group, which was formed in 2002 and aims to encourage staff to get involved in volunteer services, participated in various fund raising activities such as the Rice Selling Campaign organised by Oxfam Hong Kong, Day Fund Raising Campaign organised by Medecins Sans Frontieres, World Sight Day organised by ORBIS Hong Kong and the Chinese New Year Gift Transfer Program organised by St James' Settlement (People's Food Bank). 19 pieces of winter clothing were also donated to St James' Settlement. It was worth mentioning that the Department attained the Top Fund-raiser and the Highest Per Capita Contribution Award in the Civil Service Category of Dress Casual Day organized by The Community Chest in 2018.

Environmental Initiatives

The Department is committed to ensuring its operations and activities are conducted in an environmentally responsible manner. The Department makes efforts to minimise waste, conserve energy, promote "reuse" and "recycle" of resources and enhance staff awareness and participation in protecting the environment.

The Department undertakes regular reviews to ensure that the use of its resources is in an efficient and green manner. Details of the Department's environmental initiatives in 2018 can be found in the Department's Environmental Report at the departmental website http://www.lad.gov.hk/eng/ppr/publication/enr.html

Internal Audit

The Internal Audit Section (IAS) is an independent team established to assist management to ensure that adequate control procedures and systems are in place to safeguard the Department's assets. It also carries out reviews of the various activities of the Department in order to ensure an economical, efficient and effective use of the Department's financial, human and other resources.

During the year, IAS reviewed assigned-out cases by the Department and internal control in the maintenance of Official Solicitor Account and Official Trustee Account by Official Solicitor’s Office. It also carried out audits onthe use of the Integrated Registration Information System provided by the Land Registry for conducting land searches in legal aid cases and performed periodical checks on means investigation reports, petty cash, imprest, etc.

Support Service to the Legal Aid Services Council

Legal Aid Services Council ("the Council") is a statutory body set up under the Legal Aid Services Council Ordinance, Cap. 489 to oversee the provision of legal aid services. The Council is responsible for advising the Chief Executive on matters of policy relating to legal aid. The Council is chaired by a non-official who is not a lawyer by profession. There are a total of 10 members comprising the Director of Legal Aid, representatives of the two legal professional bodies and lay members chosen from other fields not connected with the practice of law. Representatives of the Department attend meetings of the Council and its working party and participate in its activities in promoting public awareness and understanding of the role of the Council and its relationship with the Department.

During the year, the Department provided the Council with regular progress reports and information on different aspects of legal aid services, such as information relating to the expansion of the Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme and assignment of lawyers. With the support from the Council, the revised limits on civil and criminal legal aid cases assigned to panel lawyers took effect in 2018.

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Revenue 2017-18 2018-19 ($M) ($M) 1 Criminal cases 2.1 2.7

Civil cases 2 In-house 16.5 12.3 Assigned-out 297.2 335.1

3 Official Solicitor 2.3 3.2

Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme 4 Legal costs 0.6 0.2 Administration fee 5.3 4.0

Total 324.0 357.5

Expenditure by Items 2017-18 2018-19

($M) ($M) 1 Personal Emoluments 284.8 291.7 2 Personnel Related Expenses 12.2 14.3 3 Departmental Expenses 16.4 19.8

Legal Aid Costs (for both in-house and assigned-out cases) 4 Civil 517.8 567.0 Criminal 174.6 239.5

5 Plant, Equipment and Works - 0.3 Total 1,005.8 1,132.6

Expenditure by Programmes 2017-18 2018-19 ($M) ($M) 1 Processing of Legal Aid Applications 108.6 113.5 2 Litigation Services 836.7 958.1 3 Support Services 44.6 44.5 4 Official Solicitor’s Office 15.9 16.5 Total 1,005.8 1,132.6

66 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Appendix1 Revenue and Expenditure

Analysis of Expenditure for Civil Cases by Types of Cases Types of Cases 2017-18 2018-19 Matrimonial Cases 14.5% 14.9% Misc. Personal Injuries 39.1% 40.4% Employees’ Compensations 11.9% 11.0% Running Down 7.6% 7.5% Immigration Matters 1.7% 1.4% Land & Tenancy Disputes 5.1% 7.1% Wage Claims 0.1% 0.1% Miscellaneous 20.0% 17.6% Total 100% 100%

Analysis of Expenditure for Criminal Cases by Types of Cases Types of Cases 2017-18 2018-19 Hearings in District Court 49.6% 47.5% Hearings in Court of First Instance 42.5% 45.7% Appeals from Magistrates’ Courts 1.7% 0.8% Appeals from District Court 1.5% 1.5% Appeals from Court of First Instance 2.4% 2.2% Appeals in Court of Final Appeal 2.3% 2.3% Total 100% 100%

Legal Aid Budget

Financial Year* 2017-18 2016-17 2015-16

Total Approved Estimate($'000) A 1,006,228 1,024,138 861,101

Index A (2014-15=100) 118.5 120.6 101.4

Actual Operating Expenses ($'000) B 313,483 301,583 291,902 (Note 1)

Index B (2014-15=100) 111.1 106.9 103.5

Civil C 517,797 582,975 452,800 Actual Legal Aid Costs ($'000) Criminal D 174,561 138,850 115,373

Index C+D (2014-15=100) 122.1 127.3 100.2

Capital Expenditure ($'000) E 0 225 461

(Over-spending) / Underspending ($'000) F=A-B-C-D-E 387 505 565 (Note 2)

% of (Over-spending) / Underspending F/A 0% 0% 0.1%

Note 1: Operating Expenses cover expenditure for personal emoluments, personnel related expenses and departmental expenses. Note 2: Underspending will not be accumulated to carry forward to the next financial year. *In Hong Kong, the government's financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March.

68 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Appendix1 Revenue and Expenditure

Supplementary Legal Aid Fund - Income and Expenditure Account Note 1 Note 2 For the year ended For the year ended 30 September 2017 30 September 2018 ($) ($) Income

Application fees 92,340 124,580 Percentage contributions 4,728,482 3,966,135 Interest income 3,736,764 5,010,242 8,557,586 9,100,957 Less : Expenditure Administration fee 5,247,941 3,980,137 Bank charges 310 345 Cash transportation services charges 33,150 34,190 Electronic payment services charges 86 103 Expenses for interpretation services 1,291 0

Legal costs and expenses for finalised cases

Successful litigation - costs to opposite parties 538,547 0 - other disbursements 693,773 0

1,232,320 0

Unsuccessful applications 143,653 120,307

Unsuccessful litigation - costs to opposite parties 1,319,963 0 - other disbursements 1,169,223 11,250

2,489,186 11,250

9,147,937 4,146,332

(Deficit)/ Surplus for the year (590,351) 4,954,625

Notes : 1. The financial year of the Supplementary Legal Aid Fund runs from 1 October of one year to 30 September of the following year. As at 30 September 2018, the net assets of the Supplementary Legal Aid Fund were increased by $4,954,625 to $197,327,258. 2. Auditors’ Report for the statement of account for the year ended 30 September 2018 has not yet been issued.

Overall Satisfaction Rate 2017 2018 Application Services Application and Processing / Headquarters 99% 99% Kowloon Branch Office 98% 98% Insolvency Unit 97% 97% Crime Section 100% 100% Litigation – Mid-Litigation Stage In-house Litigation of Family / Matrimonial Cases 98% 99% In-house Litigation of Personal Injuries Cases 98% 96% Cases handled by Assigned Solicitors 96% 96% Litigation – Conclusion Stage In-house Litigation of Family / Matrimonial Cases 97% 99% In-house Litigation of Personal Injuries Cases 98% 100% Cases handled by Assigned Solicitors 88% 88%

(A) Application Service (Means Test and Merits Test)

Application Kowloon and Insolvency Crime Branch Processing / Unit Section Office Headquarters

2017 2018 2017 2018 2017 2018 2017 2018

Response Rate 99% 100% 93% 84% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Overall Satisfaction 4.54 4.41 4.52 4.45 4.51 4.45 4.46 4.49

Convenience (e.g. LAD hotline or pamphlet is easily 4.40 4.21 4.20 4.18 4.16 4.26 4.29 4.31 accessible, user-friendly, etc.)

Service Manner (Staff manner) 4.63 4.56 4.61 4.61 4.57 4.50 4.55 4.54

Service Efficiency (e.g. in means / merits testing, etc.) 4.49 4.33 4.44 4.43 4.31 4.48 4.58 4.58

Clear Information (Whether information given is clear) 4.45 4.27 4.30 4.30 4.50 4.40 4.36 4.44

Procedure (Date of interview fixed) 4.47 4.30 4.31 4.31 4.54 4.52 4.58 4.56

Satisfaction level ranges from the min. 1 to max. 5 (Very satisfied = 5; Satisfied = 4; Average = 3; Dissatisfied = 2; Very Dissatisfied = 1)

70 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Appendix2 Findings of the Survey on Customer Feedback

(B) Litigation – Mid-Litigation Stage In-house Litigation of In-house Litigation of Cases handled by Family / Matrimonial Cases Personal Injuries Cases Assigned Solicitors 2017 2018 2017 2018 2017 2018 Response Rate 100% 100% 100% 100% 28% 23% Overall Satisfaction 4.72 4.79 4.53 4.47 4.61 4.57 Convenience (Easy to 4.77 4.83 4.47 4.57 4.66 4.63 contact lawyer / staff) Service Manner (Staff 4.79 4.87 4.66 4.65 4.70 4.68 manner) Clear Information (Whether 4.67 4.74 4.43 4.44 4.53 4.55 information given is clear)

Procedure (Client informed of progress / procedure of 4.69 4.83 4.51 4.49 4.54 4.58 the case)

Satisfaction level ranges from the min. 1 to max. 5 (Very satisfied = 5; Satisfied = 4; Average = 3; Dissatisfied = 2; Very Dissatisfied = 1)

(C) Litigation – Conclusion Stage In-house Litigation of In-house Litigation of Cases handled by Family / Matrimonial Cases Personal Injuries Cases Assigned Solicitors 2017 2018 2017 2018 2017 2018 Response Rate 100% 100% 82% 81% 21% 20% Overall Satisfaction 4.51 4.60 4.76 4.66 4.46 4.33 Convenience (Easy to 4.50 4.54 4.73 4.66 4.43 4.44 contact lawyer / staff) Service Manner (Staff 4.60 4.63 4.84 4.79 4.53 4.47 manner)

Clear Information (Whether 4.44 4.46 4.67 4.59 4.31 4.30 information given is clear)

Result (Outcome) 4.49 4.46 4.63 4.65 4.32 4.35 Procedure (Client informed of progress / procedure of 4.49 4.54 4.75 4.63 4.30 4.30 the case)

Satisfaction level ranges from the min. 1 to max. 5 (Very satisfied = 5; Satisfied = 4; Average = 3; Dissatisfied = 2; Very Dissatisfied = 1)

Director of Legal Aid Mr Thomas Edward Kwong

Deputy Director of Legal Aid Mr Chris Chong Yan-tung (Policy and Administration)

Deputy Director of Legal Aid Ms Mo Yuk-wah (Application and Processing)

Deputy Director of Legal Aid Ms Juliana Chan Oi-yung (Litigation)

Assistant Director of Legal Aid Ms Tse Sze-fong (Application and Processing)

Assistant Director of Legal Aid Mr Steve Wong Yiu-fai (Litigation) (Acting)

Assistant Director of Legal Aid Ms Doris Lui Wai-lan (Policy & Development)

Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel / Miss Ada Wong Yiu-ming Application and Processing (1)

Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel / Ms Amy Lee Ngar-ling Application and Processing (2)

Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel Mr Jason Chan Mau-kwan (Kowloon Branch Office)

Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel Ms Juliana Chan Miu-kuen (Civil Litigation 1)

Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel Miss Doreen Chan Dao-kit (Civil Litigation 2) (Acting)

Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel Ms Nancy Keung Mei-chuen (Crime)

Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel Ms Jenny Leung Ping-ching (Legal and Management Support) (Acting)

Assistant Principal Legal Aid Counsel Mrs Christina Hadiwibawa Cheung Ying-man (Feasibility Study)

Departmental Secretary Ms Eileen Fan Wai-ling

Departmental Accountant Ms Eliza Tang Ling

72 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Appendix4 Address and Communication

Headquarters

24/F to 27/F • Application and processing of civil and criminal cases Queensway Government Offices • Criminal litigation 66 Queensway • Civil litigation Hong Kong - Personal injury litigation - Enforcement of court orders Tel : 2537 7652 (Civil Litigation) • Legal and management support 2867 3067 (Criminal Litigation) • Policy and administrative support Fax : 2537 5948

Hong Kong Sub-office

30/F Revenue Tower 5 Gloucester Road Wanchai, Hong Kong • Family and insolvency litigation

Tel : 2537 7677 Fax : 2537 5960

Kowloon Branch Office

G/F, 3/F & 4/F Mongkok Government Offices 30 Luen Wan Street Mongkok, Kowloon • Application and processing of civil cases

Tel : 2399 2544 Fax : 2397 7475

24-hour Telephone Enquiry Service: 2537 7677 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.lad.gov.hk

香港法律援助服務指南 1. 繁/簡/English Guide to Legal Aid Services in Hong Kong 顧客服務標準 2. 繁/簡/English Customer Service Standards 怎樣申請－尋求法律服務 3. 繁/簡/English How to Apply Legal Services 怎樣申請民事訴訟的法律援助 4. 繁/簡/English How to Apply Legal Aid in Civil Cases 怎樣申請刑事訴訟的法律援助 5. 繁/簡/English How to Apply Legal Aid in Criminal Cases 怎樣申請法律援助輔助計劃 6. 繁/簡/English How to Apply Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme 怎樣計算你的財務資源及分擔費 7. 繁/簡/English How Your Financial Resources and Contribution are Calculated 財務資料一覽表 8. 繁/簡/English Financial Information Sheet

法律援助訴訟的分擔訟費及法律援助署署長的第一押記 9. 繁/簡/English Contribution towards Costs of Legal Aid Case and Director of Legal Aid’s First Charge

法援通訊 10. 繁/English LAD News 受助人須知（申請及審查科） 11. 繁/簡/English Important Notice for Legally-Aided Persons (Application & Processing Division) 受助人須知（人身傷害訴訟） 12. 繁/簡/English Important Notice for Legally-Aided Persons (Personal Injuries Litigation) 受助人須知（家事訴訟） 13. 繁/English Important Notice for Legally-Aided Persons (Family Litigation) 受助人須知（清盤破產訴訟） 14. 繁/English Important Notice for Legally-Aided Persons (Insolvency Litigation) 受助人須知（刑事組） 15. 繁/簡/English Important Notice for Legally-Aided Persons (Crime Section) 法援婚姻訴訟個案家事調解計劃 16. Mediation in Legally Aided Matrimonial Cases 民事法援案件 (非婚姻訴訟) 調解計劃 17. Mediation in Legally Aided Non-Matrimonial Civil Cases 關於離婚法律程序的資料 18. Information on Divorce Proceedings 離婚法律程序流程表 19. Flowchart for Divorce Proceedings

74 Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. Appendix5 List of Publications

緊急申請須知 20. Urgent Applications – What You Need to Know 有關管養權聆訊的資料 21. Information on Custody Hearing 離婚後應注意事項 22. Post Divorce Matters which Warrant Attention 僱員補償申索 23. Employees’ Compensation Claim 僱員補償個案的主要程序流程表 24. Flowchart of Major Steps in a Typical Employees’ Compensation Claim 人身傷亡申索 25. Personal Injury Claim 人身傷亡個案的主要程序流程表 26. Flowchart of Major Steps in a Typical Personal Injury Claim 海員欠薪申索 27. Seamen’s Wages Claim 海員欠薪個案的主要程序流程表 28. Flowchart of Major Steps in a Typical Seamen’s Wages Claim 醫療疏忽申索 29. Medical Negligence Claim 醫療疏忽個案的主要程序流程表 30. Flowchart of Major Steps in a Typical Medical Negligence Claim 香港法律援助服務小冊子 (孟加拉語、印尼語、尼泊爾語、印度語、旁遮普語、菲律賓語、泰米爾語、泰語、巴基斯坦語、越南語) 31. 繁/簡/English Information Leaflet on Legal Aid Services in Hong Kong (Bengali, Indonesian, Nepali, Hindi, Punjabi, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Urdu, Vietnamese) 不滿某人獲批法援 - 可怎麽辦? 32. 繁/簡/English Not Happy that Someone is Given Legal Aid - Can Anything be Done?

Other Publications 法律援助署年報 1. 繁/簡/English LAD Departmental Report 環保報告 (只提供網上版本) 2. 繁/English Environmental Report (web version only) 法律援助輔助計劃基金年報 (只提供網上版本) 3. 繁/English Supplementary Legal Aid Fund Annual Report (web version only)

Copyright : The copyright of this annual report rests with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is strictly prohibited. 75