1. General
1.1 General Characteristics of Legal System
Hong Kong follows the common law system with a combination of
statutory laws as well as laws developed through judgments. The
system of stare decisis prevails where lower courts are bound by
the decision of higher courts. Court proceedings are carried out in
an adversarial manner where counsel of both parties present their
respective cases (by way of both written submissions and oral
arguments) and the judge decides.
1.2 Court System
Under the principle of "One Country, Two Systems",
Hong Kong SAR has its own judiciary which is separate from the
Mainland. The jurisdiction of the non-appellate courts is limited
by subject-matter, monetary value of the claim or nature and
severity of the sentence.
