Read the full judgment text of HCCT000009/1988 on BabelCite. This 高等法院原訟法庭 judgment was delivered on 15 September 1988 before The Hon. Mr. Justice Sears.
Practice and procedure — Official Languages Ordinance — Use of Chinese language in civil court proceedings — Whether court may permit pleadings and documents to be filed in Chinese despite generally mandated use of English — The Official Languages Ordinance, Cap. 5, section 5(2)(b) requires proceedings in the High Court to be conducted in English; section 5(3) allows parties or witnesses to use Chinese or other languages with court permission. The court holds that it has discretion to allow pleadings in Chinese in appropriate circumstances to ensure fairness, particularly when a party is self-represented and would otherwise bear significant expense to convert documents into English. The Interpretation Ordinance s.19 supports a liberal construction of the statute to achieve its remedial intent. Outcome: leave granted to defendant Cho Hing Yiu to file defence and other pleadings in Chinese with the condition that he must ensure he understands English documents served by the plaintiff. This approach facilitates access to justice and respects official bilingual policy without causing injustice to the plaintiff, who will be able to understand the defense through court interpreters and translations.
Legal issues: Use of Chinese language in pleadings
Outcome: The court granted the defendant leave to file his defence and other pleadings in Chinese.