Background
The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Ordinance, Cap. 623 (hereinafter, “the Ordinance”) is expected to come into force on 1st January 2016.
There are two aspects to the doctrine of privity of contract, and it is the second aspect (that is, a party who is not a party to the contract cannot acquire and enforce rights under the contract) that the Ordinance seeks to address.
On 28 July 2015, SW legal executive Mr. Man Wong attended the “Global Economic Prospects and Opportunities Seminar” (环球经济展望与三大行业机遇研讨会) held by SME One of Hong Kong Productivity Council. The seminar was targeted at those who are in the retailing, import/ export trading and manufacturing industries.
On 20 July 2015, our partners Mr. Eric Lui and Ms. Heidi Chui attended The Law Society’s Members’ Forum and Dinner Gathering. Ms. Chui acted as one of the masters of ceremony of the event whereby ideas and views were exchanged on the topic of “litigation funding” among members. Members shared their views on feasibility and desirability of litigation funding in the Hong Kong legal service market.
Summary:
The Court of Appeal in Citic Pacific Limited v Secretary for Justice (2015 HKEC 1263) disagreed with the narrow approach in Three Rivers (No.5) to the definition of “client”. In the context of corporations where the information may be acquired from employees in different departments or at various levels of the corporate structure, the court considered that the process of gathering information for the purpose of obtaining legal advice needs to be protected. The Court of Appeal also held that the “client” is simply the corporation, and the question is “which of its employees should be regarded as being authorized to act for it in the process of obtaining legal advice.”
The latest figures released by the Australian Immigration Department have revealed that the number of Australian Temporary Work (Skilled) (Subclass 457) visa applications rose by 15% between 2014 and 2015. Such rise in “457 visa” applications mainly concerns accommodation and food services (37%), IT (31%), and professional, scientific and technical services (27%).
