A reminder for listed company substantial shareholders to comply with disclosure requirements
Joseph Kwan
In the recent Court of First Instance (CFI) decision in Securities and Futures Commission v Lam Fai Man, HCMA 465/2015, 8 December 2015, the Court makes it clear that merely delegating or assigning the task of disclosure to another person (in this case a stockbroker), without more, will not constitute a defence for non-compliance with the disclosure of interest requirements under Part XV of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO). Full article »
Court of Final Appeal rules that Section 30A(10)(a) of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6) is unconstitutional
Richard Hudson, Cathy Wu
Under the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6) (“BO”), a person who has been adjudged bankrupt will be entitled to be discharged from bankruptcy four years after the making of the bankruptcy order, unless it is a second bankruptcy or the period is extended by the Court. The maximum extension is an additional four year period. Full article »
Hong Kong Court confirms that indemnity costs are payable for unsuccessful challenges to arbitration agreements
KK Cheung
In Chimbusco International Petroleum (Singapore) Pte Ltd v Fully Best Trading Ltd, HCA 2416/2014, 3 December 2015, the Court of First Instance confirmed that the principle of awarding indemnity costs for unsuccessful attempts to resist enforcement of an arbitral award applied equally to unsuccessful attempts to resist enforcement and recognition of the arbitration agreement itself. Full article »
England’s Supreme Court changes the test for determining whether a contractual provision is a “penalty” and therefore unenforceable
Karen Dicks
In its judgment of 4 November 2015, England’s Supreme Court, for the first time in a century, considered the principles underlying the law relating to contractual penalty clauses, in two appeals before it. One appeal involved a share purchase and shareholders’ agreement (Cavendish Square Holding BV v Talal El Makdessi) and the other a charge imposed on an individual for overstaying a two hour free parking period (ParkingEye Limited v Beavis). Both appeals gave rise to the same question, namely what is the ambit of the penalty rule in English law? The judgment changes the test under English law for determining whether a contractual clause, which takes effect upon breach of contract, is a penalty and therefore unenforceable. Full article »
Recovery of funds procured by wire fraud
Andy Lau
With the increased sophistication in technology, fraudulent schemes are evolving and becoming more prevalent in Hong Kong. Fraudsters are continually finding new methods of deceiving victims into parting with their money. This article looks briefly at the steps to take in the case of a wire fraud. Full article »
Application for recusal of judicial officers
Christy Yu
A recusal application is an application calling for the judicial officer presiding over a case to disqualify himself from involvement in the case on the grounds that he or she is biased. Full article »
Prosecutions for obscene or indecent articles
Andy Lau
In Hong Kong, the publication of obscene or indecent articles is governed by the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (Ordinance). Articles are submitted to the Obscene Articles Tribunal (Tribunal) for classification on whether they are obscene, indecent or neither. Full article »
Court of Appeal holds that sanctioned offer and payment regime does not apply to appeal proceedings
Karen Dicks
In the recent case of CEP Ltd v Wuxi Jiacheng Solar Energy Technology Co Ltd, CACV 97/2014, 8 January 2016, the Court of Appeal held that the sanctioned offer and payment regime under Order 22 of the Rules of High Court Order does not apply to appeal proceedings. Full article »