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Legal Updates
Legal Update: The Court confirms that employer’s duty of trust and confidence does not apply to the right to terminate
In the recent decision of Yang Zhizhong v Nomura International (Hong Kong) Limited [2024] HKCFI 2192 handed down by the Court of First Instance, the employer was successful in defending against the claims of breaches of implied terms of the employment contract. In that case,…Read More
Overview of Anti-Discrimination Laws in Hong Kong
By way of summary, we set out below a brief overview of major aspects of the laws relating to unlawful discrimination and harassment in Hong Kong. Where relevant we have also embedded links to other more detailed descriptions of aspects of the law governing these…Read More
Legal Update – Beware of the Risk of Sex Discrimination in Job Advertisements
“Female migrant workers from Guangdong Province will be given priority” (original Chinese wording: 「廣東省新移民女工優先」) is a sentence that appeared in a recent job advertisement for various positions in a dumpling restaurant chain in Hong Kong (see this link to the news report from 24 September…Read More
AI in the workplace: Employment law risks from using AI
The use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) can provide benefit to all sectors of the economy. This requires AI to be deployed in workplaces. Employers and HR teams must be mindful of ethical and privacy risks that arise from the use of AI in recruitment and…Read More
Legal update: Compensation and disqualification order granted against a company officer who did not receive misappropriated funds
Does it excuse misconduct in the eyes of a securities regulator if the company officer did not personally profit from and receive misappropriated funds? John Lee of Tanner De Witt explains that the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (“SFC”) will still enforce, and…Read More
Paws for Thought: Pet-Nups
In the busy city of Hong Kong, where pet ownership is on the rise and pets are increasingly considered cherished family members, the concept of including pets in pre-nuptial agreements or eve free standing pet nuptial agreements (“Pet- Nup”) is gaining traction as a vital…Read More
The Case for Recusal: A Summary on WSSA v SYH [2024] HKCA 735
In the Family Court, it is common to see high conflict and long running cases. Parties may frequently feel aggrieved by strict case management decisions or substantive decisions made by Judge or a Master which may not be in their favour. In cases where bias…Read More
Legal Update: Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance (Cap. 650) to come into effect in January 2026
The Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance (Cap. 650) (the “Ordinance”) was gazetted on 19 July 2024, and will come into operation on the expiry of 18 months thereafter (i.e. January 2026) (the gazetted version can be accessed here).The Ordinance requires certain specified professionals to…Read More
Legal Update: Importance of Contemporaneous Records in Defending Against Discrimination Claim
In a recent decision of Guting, Joan Sarmiento, Deceased v Choy Chiu Yee Rita [2024] HKDC 747 handed down by the District Court, an employer was successful in defending against a disability discrimination claim by a domestic helper. It appears from the judgment that the…Read More
The Court of Final Appeal Revisits The Approach of an Appellate Court in Magistracy Appeals
On 3 April 2024, the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) (the highest court in Hong Kong) handed down its judgment in HKSAR v Hui Lai Ki [2024] HKCFA 7 clarifying the correct approach to be adopted by an appellate court for an appeal by way…Read More
Marriage Equality in Hong Kong: Progress and Next Steps
Pride Month aims to raise awareness around equality and celebrating our LGBTQIA+ people and communities and to raise awareness of issues that affect them and steer conversation and action towards positive change. Recently in celebration of Pride Month, ten LGBTQIA+ couples tied the knot in…Read More
Legal update: Privy Council’s decision in Sian Participation Corp (In Liquidation) v. Halimeda International Ltd – are we back to square one?
This note updates a series of Tanner De Witt articles on the interaction between dispute resolution clauses and the Court’s insolvency jurisdiction. The previous articles are: The update arises because of the widely reported Privy Council decision in Re Sian Participation Corp[1] that the English…Read More
