Hong Kong: Further guidance on remote hearings for civil proceedings

As reported in an earlier article published by us on 9 April 2020, the Judiciary on 2 April 2020 issued a Guidance Note, effective 3 April 2020 (“Phase 1”), regarding the use of remote hearings as a means to deal with some pending civil litigation matters in the High Court. We have already written about the subject in our previous article ‘Remote Hearings for Civil Proceedings: How Will the Embrace of Technology Affect Hong Kong’s Legal System?’.

At the time of issuing Phase 1, which was in response to the Court’s closure in response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in Hong Kong, the Judiciary made it clear that Phase 1 was subject to amendment and/or further guidance being issued.

The Judiciary has recently issued a second guidance note concerning remote hearings in civil proceedings – entitled ‘Guidance Note For Remote Hearings For Civil Business In The Civil Courts (Phase 2: Expanded Video-Conferencing Facilities and Telephone)’) (“Phase 2”) – effective as of 15 June 2020.

You can read the full article on the website of our member Hugill&Ip here