May 2026: Essential Hong Kong Case Updates

Offence endangering national security — Conspiracy to commit subversion of HKSAR Government — Whether advocacy, engagement or participation in scheme with view to abuse powers and functions after election as member of Legislative Council for ultimately causing Chief Executive to resign — Indiscriminately refuse to pass budget or public expenditure — Whether ‘other unlawful means’ — Constitutional duty to uphold Basic Law of the HKSAR — Consideration of factors extraneous to fiscal considerations when Legislative Council members scrutinize budgets — Genuine belief that it was lawful to do so — Fact-finding on individual defendant’s participation — Judicial intervention — Sentencing — Whether starting point for active participant manifestly excessive — Mitigation — Mistake of law — Community service — Totality — Whether wholly consecutive sentences justified — Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region art 22 

Fraud — Lease of land — Deceitfully concealing from Science and Technology Park Corporation that leased premises been used otherwise than for specified purpose or falsely representing on use of premises and inducing corporation to make omissions in not enforcing rights under lease which resulted in benefit to company or substantial risk of prejudice to corporation — Whether indictment duplicitous — User restriction clause — Non-alienation clause — Whether lease breached by occupation and use by private company — Whether lease holding company under duty of disclosure — Whether duty of disclosure attributable to defendant directors — Whether defendant made false representation — Theft Ordinance (Cap 210) s 16A 

Costs — Appeal — Discretion to depart from ‘costs follow the event’ — Partial success of arguments of both sides — Rules of the High Court (Cap 4A) O 62 r 5 

Costs — Indemnity against deceased’s estate — Locus standi — Distinction between probate jurisdiction and supervisory jurisdiction in administration proceedings — Whether freestanding cause of action existed to recover costs from estate after conclusion of contentious probate proceedings — Henderson abuse — Substantial delay — Collateral purpose — Rules of the High Court (Cap 4A) O 85 

Mareva injunction — Discharge — Monetary ceiling — Whether plaintiff required to show good arguable case on both liability and quantum — Whether credit to be given for returns withdrawn by defrauded investors — Material non-disclosure — Double actionability rule — Representative action — Whether properly constituted — Fraudulent scheme Ponzi scheme — Risk of dissipation — High Court Ordinance (Cap 4) s 21L 

Costs — Administration action — Discontinuance — Executor’s right of indemnity out of estate — Whether executor acted unreasonably to justify costs order against him personally — Failure to provide supporting documents — Re Buckton guidelines — Hostile litigation — Without prejudice offers — Leave to appeal — Challenge to exercise of discretion — Reasonable prospects of success — Rules of the High Court (Cap 4A) O 59 r 2A(8); O 62 r 6(2) 

Civil Procedure — Costs — Action commenced in High Court — District Court monetary jurisdiction subsequently increased — Whether reasonable to have commenced action in High Court — Whether reasonably expected to transfer action to District Court — Whether costs be taxed on District Court scale or High Court scale — Rules of the High Court (Cap 4A) O 65 r 5(1)

Health and Safety — Employees’ compensation — Delay in quantifying compensation — Due case management safeguards urged

Tort — Negligence — Personal injuries — Fall from height — Assessment of damages — Pre-existing conditions — Pre-trial and post-trial loss of earnings — Related stressors — Contribution to psychiatric symptoms — Whether judge correct to have applied 30% reduction across all heads of damages 

Winding up — Cross-border Insolvency — PRC company under bankruptcy restructuring approved by PRC court under Enterprise Bankruptcy Law — Application by administrators for recognition and assistance — Whether Hong Kong court had power under common law to recognise restructuring approved by foreign court — Applicable criteria and conceptual difference for recognition and assistance — Whether power extended to assisting or giving effect to restructuring — Appropriate orders 

Building and Construction — Construction industry — Scope of Levy — Maintenance services for lifts and escalators — Objection to assessment — Whether lift and escalator maintenance works constitute ‘construction operations’ — Whether lack of appointment of authorized person a relevant issue — Whether there was no commencement or completion — Meaning of ‘stage’ and ‘part’ of construction operations — Construction Industry Council Ordinance (Cap 587) s 40(1); Sch 1

Words and Phrases — ‘construction operations’ — Construction Industry Council Ordinance (Cap 587) s 40(1); Sch 1 

Anti-arbitration injunction — Judgment entered by Hong Kong court to enforce arbitral awards — New arbitration commenced by losing party against awards rendered on grounds of bribery — Whether new arbitration vexatious, oppressive and abusive in seeking to frustrate enforcement of award recognised in Hong Kong — High Court Ordinance (Cap 4) s 21L — UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration art 34 

Sale of land — Agreement for sale and purchase — Showing and giving good title — Power of attorney — Whether equitable charge created — Severance of joint tenancy