09 Mar 2026
February 2026: Essential Hong Kong Case Updates
We're pleased to present this month's collection of newly reported cases covering various practice areas, including Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Contract Law, Land Law and more. Each case includes catchwords highlighting key legal issues.
All cases are linked to Lexis+® Hong Kong. Please log in to the platform to ensure a consistent experience before accessing the links.
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New cases reported in HKC February 2026:
Civil Procedure
COURT OF APPEAL
Hon Kwan VP, Au and G Lam JJA in Court
CACV 862/2025,; [2025] HKCA 1068
Date of Hearing: 19 November 2025, 2 December 2025
| Key Legal Issues |
Civil Procedure — Discovery — Norwich pharmacal relief — Whether order sought was ‘necessary and proportionate’ in the circumstances |
Land
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
Deputy High Court Judge MK Liu in Court
HCMP 724/2017; [2025] HKCFI 5765
Dates of Hearing: 6 and 14 November 2025, Date of Further Written Submissions: 19 November 2025, 4 December 2025
| Key Legal Issues |
New Territories — Land — Business t’ong — Determination of criteria of membership — Directions by court regarding first meeting of members of t’ong — New Territories Ordinance (Cap 97) ss 13, 15 |
COURT OF APPEAL
Hon Kwan VP, Cheung and Barma JJA in Court
CACV 344/2024; [2025] HKCA 1104
Date of Hearing: 26 November 2025, 12 December 2025
| Key Legal Issues |
Land — Building management — Incorporated owners — Non-compliance with Code of Practice for Procurement of Supplies, Goods and Services — Liability of owners to pay contribution — Whether owners entitled to order to inspect tender documents — Whether mandatory to comply — Building Management Ordinance (Cap 344) ss 20A(1), (7), 44(1) |
Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure
HKSAR v TAI TIN HO ZAFAR (戴天浩) AND ANOTHER [2025] HKCU 7380; [2025] HKCA 1109; [2026] 1 HKC 620
COURT OF APPEAL
Hon Macrae VP, Zervos and M Poon JJA in Court
CACC 130/2023 & CAAR 4/2023; [2025] HKCA 1109
Date of Hearing: 17 July 2025, Date of Judgment: 17 July 2025, 11 December 2025
| Key Legal Issues |
Criminal Law — Robbery — Armed robbery in hotel room — Pistol brandished — Sentencing — Whether 7 years’ imprisonment after trial manifestly inadequate — Failure to follow guidelines — Appropriate starting point be 10 years’ imprisonment — Discount because 30% increase in sentence upon review Criminal Procedure — Trial — Question of jury — Jury asked for further identification evidence — Judge edited question before showing counsel — Counsel consulted but not told of one part of question — Summing up clear about danger of misidentification — Whether there was material irregularity — Jury not called back into court for reply — Judge replied to jury by typed note — Whether room for possible misunderstanding — Procedure for dealing with note from jury |
Legal Practitioners
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
Deputy High Court Judge Kent Yee in Chambers
HCMP 1079/2024; [2025] HKCFI 5876
Date of Hearing: 30 May 2025, 1 December 2025
| Key Legal Issues |
Solicitors — Solicitor and client taxation — Whether bill be taxed — Whether interim or final bill — Construction of retainer — Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap 159) s 67 |
Contempt of Court
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
Deputy High Court Judge Kent Yee in Chambers
HCMP 1079/2024; [2025] HKCFI 5876
Date of Hearing: 30 May 2025, 1 December 2025
| Key Legal Issues | Contempt of Court — Committal — Failure to comply with order for specific discovery for documents in relation to certain bank accounts — Whether properly served — Original discovery order lacked the penal notice — Alleged non-compliance trivial — Whether plaintiffs failed to consider reasonable alternatives by applying for order to compel defendants to comply fully and more timeously with disclosure obligations under the order — Whether committal proceedings ‘plainly excessive and oppressive’ — Rules of the High Court (Cap 4A) O 45 r 7(4); O 52 r 3 |
Contract Law
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
Deputy High Court Judge Anthony H. K. Chan SC in Court
HCA 280/2021; [2025] HKCFI 6181
Date of Hearing: 9-10, 13-15, 24 October 2025, 12 December 2025
| Key Legal Issues | Contract — Deed — Right of first refusal in favour of plaintiff — Breach — Not allowing plaintiff to exercise right — Implied term — Whether deed conferred upon plaintiff a discretion that involved making an assessment or choosing from a range of options — Estoppel and waiver — Elements — Whether knowledge necessary ingredient to establish promissory estoppel — Damages for loss of chance — Assessment |
COURT OF APPEAL
Hon Chu VP, Cheung and Chow JJA in Court
CACV 2/2023; [2025] HKCA 1129
Date of Hearing : 2 December 2025, 16 December 2025
| Key Legal Issues |
Cooperation agreement — Exclusive sales agent selling all seats on a wholesale basis to other tourist agents — Whether payment of deposit ‘condition precedent’ to formation of the contract — Standard terms — Waiver — Remedies |
Administrative Law
COURT OF APPEAL
Hon G Lam and Anthony Chan JJA in Court
CACV 315/2024 & CACV 316/2024; [2025] HKCA 1082
Date of Hearing : 28 November 2025, 15 December 2025
| Key Legal Issues | Administrative Law — Judicial review — Director of immigration — Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES) — Refusal of extension of stay — Whether applicant required to hold valid travel document for the application for purpose of extending stay — Immigration policies found in CIES Scheme Rules and Immigration Guidelines for Entry to the HKSAR — Whether applicant for CIES visa and relevant extension of stay must satisfy the requirement of holding valid travel document |
Bankruptcy
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
Master Maurice Lam in Court
HCB 1119/2025, NO 1119 OF 2025; [2025] HKCFI 6165
Date of Hearing: 6 November 2025 Date of the Bankrupt’s Supplemental Submissions: 20 November 2025 Date of the Petitioner’s Supplemental Submissions: 27 November 2025 Date of Judgment: 15 December 2025, 15 December 2025
| Key Legal Issues | Bankruptcy — Bankruptcy petition — Annulment — Leave to present — Defective service — Full and frank disclosure — Inquiry on whether debtor moved outside Hong Kong — Court’s exercise of bankruptcy jurisdiction — Conditions for presenting bankruptcy petition — Whether irregularly obtained bankruptcy order should be annulled — Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap 6) ss 4(1), 6(1),(2)(c), 33(1)(a) — Bankruptcy Rules (Cap 6A) rr 44, 46, 49(9), 203 |
Conflict of Laws
天津津融投資服務集團有限公司 v 濟南穆和企業管理有限公司 AND OTHERS [2025] HKCU 7505; [2025] HKCFI 6182; [2026] 1 HKC 691
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
Deputy High Court Judge Gary CC Lam in Chambers (Open to Public)
HCRE 70/2024; [2025] HKCFI 6182
Date of Hearing: 26 November 2025, 10 December 2025
| Key Legal Issues | Recognition and enforcement of judgments — Mainland judgment — Registration — Setting aside — Whether order for payment of sum — Whether enhanced interest in nature of penalty — Whether court fee order enforceable — Whether other fees in nature of taxes — Mainland Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance (Cap 597) ss 5(1), 18(1)(a), (b), (j) |
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We invite you to explore these updated resources and consider how they can enhance your practice and benefit your clients.
We look forward to bringing you further updates in our next update.