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Appointed by the Hon. Chief Justice Mr Andrew Li, a Steering Committee on Resource Centre for Unrepresented Litigants ("The Committee") is formed.
The Committee is to advise on the establishment and operation of the resource centre for unrepresented litigants appearing in civil proceedings in the High Court and District Court.
It will also explore with the legal profession, interested Non-Governmental Organizations and other interested bodies opportunities for them to provide assistance, at or through the resource centre.
"The instances of litigants in person have increased tremendously in recent years. They represent a significant demand on judicial time and resources," a Judiciary spokesman said.
A survey conducted by the Judiciary last April showed that out of 1,640 cases heard before Masters of the High Court, 33% had one or all parties being unrepresented. Out of 131 appeals against Masters' decision heard by the judges of the Court of First Instance, 48% had one or all parties being unrepresented.
"On a broader perspective, litigants in person feature in over 10% of the total sitting time of the judges in the High Court and District Court," he said.
"It is believed that the level of legal fees, the current economic climate, and the greater use of Chinese in the court process may have contributed to this phenomenon," he added.
The Committee will balance the interests of the unrepresented litigants, the other parties who are legally represented and the court. It aims to complete its deliberation and submit a report to the Chief Justice in six to nine months' time.
"It is not the objective of the Judiciary, through the establishment of a resource centre, to encourage people to litigate in person," the spokesman said.
"The adversarial common law system is not designed with unrepresented litigants in mind. The difficulties faced by an unrepresented litigant cannot be completely offset by the limited assistance that he/she may obtain from the future resource centre," he noted.
"It is, however, hoped that through the establishment of the proposed resource centre, the court process can be expedited as time spent in court in explaining rules and procedure to the unrepresented litigants can be saved.
"Besides, the uniformity in the explanations offered can be ensured and existing facilities and assistance for them can be enhanced," he added.
The Committee is chaired by the Hon. Madam Justice Chu, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court. Other members include His Hon. Judge Lok; Master Lung of the High Court; Mr Simon Kwang, Acting Registrar of the District Court; Mr Robert Pang, a Barrister; Mr Denis Brock, a Solicitor; Ms Jane Tsuei Pik-shan, Business Director, Service Development of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service; and Ms Grace Wong, Administrator of the Duty Lawyer Service.
End/Wednesday, April 24, 2002
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