Hong Kong Regulations

LEGAL AID REGULATIONS - REGULATION 10

Legal aid after commencement of proceedings

(Past version on 30/06/1997).

(1) Where, after proceedings have been instituted in any court or the Court of
Final Appeal, any party becomes an aided person in regard to those
proceedings, the Director shall only be liable to pay so much of the costs of
the proceedings as are incurred while a certificate is in force. (L.N. 89 of
1982; L.N. 194 of 1992; 79 of 1995 s. 50)

(2) Any solicitor who has acted in the proceedings on behalf of the aided
person before the date of the certificate, and any solicitor who has by law a
lien on any documents necessary for the proceedings to which the certificate
relates and who has delivered them up subject to his lien, may give notice of
the fact to the Director.

(3) If damages or costs are recovered for the aided person in the proceedings,
the Director shall pay to such solicitor out of the sum so recovered the costs
to which he would have been entitled on a taxation between solicitor and own
client: Provided that in any case where legal aid was granted under section 5
of the Ordinance and where the sums so recovered are insufficient to pay these
costs in full in accordance with this paragraph and also to meet the net
liability of the Director on the aided person's account the sum recovered in
the proceedings shall be divided between the Director and the solicitor in
proportion to the amount owing to each, and the first charge for the benefit
of the Director imposed by virtue of the Ordinance on property recovered or
preserved in the proceedings shall take effect accordingly. (L.N. 326 of 1984)

(4) In any case where there has been no order for taxation, the amount of the
costs shall be fixed by the Director.