LTPD: CJR No. 1/2009

DIRECTION ISSUED BY THE PRESIDENT
OF THE LANDS TRIBUNAL
PURSUANT TO SECTION 10(5)(a)
OF THE LANDS TRIBUNAL ORDINANCE (CAP. 17)

APPLICATION OF THE CIVIL JUSTICE REFORM
TO THE LANDS TRIBUNAL

1. By virtue of section 10(1) of the Lands Tribunal Ordinance (Cap. 17) (as amended by section 38 of the Civil Justice (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2008), the Lands Tribunal ("the Tribunal") has a very wide power to adopt the practice and procedure of the Court of First Instance, including the jurisdiction, powers and duties vested therein. Section 10(1) reads as follows:

"(1) The Tribunal may, so far as it thinks fit, follow the practice and procedure of the Court of First Instance in the exercise of its civil jurisdiction, and for this purpose, has the same jurisdiction, powers and duties of the Court of First Instance in respect of such practice and procedure."

2. The Rules of the High Court (Amendment) Rules 2008, which came into effect on 2 April 2009, have introduced many changes and new provisions to the practice and procedure of the High Court, so as to implement the measures under the Civil Justice Reform. Some of these measures are applicable to the Tribunal, and can be adopted by virtue of section 10(1).

3. This Practice Direction is issued for the guidance of practitioners on the general application of the new measures under the Civil Justice Reform to the Tribunal, as opposed to an overall stock-taking of the applicability of the Rules of the High Court to the Tribunal. This is not a substitute for a detailed knowledge of the relevant Rules of the High Court. It is imperative that practitioners should keep themselves abreast of the changes brought about by the Civil Justice Reform and the underlying objectives of enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of court process as laid down in Order 1A of the Rules of the High Court.

4. Bearing in mind the varieties of cases in the Tribunal, it is not possible to have a uniform approach regarding the adoption of new measures introduced by the Civil Justice Reform to all cases in the Tribunal. Some of the case management measures introduced by the Civil Justice Reform are suitable for application to, say, complicated compensation cases or rating appeals, but it might not necessarily be appropriate to apply the same to simple possession cases or even building management cases.

5. There are a large proportion of cases in the Tribunal involving litigants in person. The Tribunal will be sensitive to the circumstances of a particular case in deciding whether to apply some case management measures to that case. This is the rationale behind section 10(1), which gives the Tribunal a discretion in applying the practice and procedure of the Court of First Instance instead of spelling out specifically the particular practice and procedure that are to be applied in the Tribunal.

6. Thus, the Tribunal shall adopt a flexible approach in adopting the new measures under the Civil Justice Reform instead of dogmatically setting out which of the Rules of the High Court are applicable or not applicable across the board.

7. Nevertheless, some of the measures under the Civil Justice Reform are by their nature of general applicability even in the context of cases in the Tribunal. The following are some of the examples:

(1) Order 1A - Underlying objectives of the rules;

(2) Order 1B - Case management powers;

(3) Order 2 - Effect of non-compliance;

(4) Order 22 - Offers to settle and payments into Court (save that where money is paid into the Tribunal as sanctioned payment pursuant to Order 22, it would not be invested and no interest shall be credited on the ledger credit for the relevant cause or matter);

(5) Order 22A - Miscellaneous provisions about payments into Court (save that Order 22A, rule 4 shall not be applicable to the Tribunal);

(6) Order 24, rule 15A - Order for limiting discovery;

(7) Order 35, rule 3A - Time, etc. limits at trial;

(8) Order 38, rule 4A - Evidence by single joint expert;

(9) Order 38, Part IV - Expert evidence;

(10) Order 41A - Statements of Truth;

(11) Order 62 - Costs; and

(12) Order 62A - Costs offer and payments into Court.

8. The rules specified above are just some examples. The Tribunal reserves the general discretion to apply the practice and procedure in the Court of First Instance when appropriate, having regard to the underlying objectives in Order 1A and the power of the Court in case management in Order 1B. Some of the rules may not be applicable across the board, but the Tribunal may still apply these rules in appropriate cases. For instance, the Tribunal may apply some of the concepts in Order 25 concerning case management, even though case management summons and conference under Order 25 are not applicable directly to the Tribunal.

9. The Tribunal has its own case management regime for Building Management Cases. For other cases, the Tribunal has been exercising case management power at call-over / direction hearings. Without prejudice to the power of the Tribunal to direct specific provisions under Order 25 to be applicable in a particular case, parties in the proceedings of the Tribunal need not follow the procedures under Order 25 unless specifically directed by a Presiding Officer in the proceedings.

10. As a general rule, when there is already a clear procedure laid down in the Lands Tribunal Ordinance and the Lands Tribunal Rules in respect of a particular matter, the Tribunal shall not adopt the Rules of the High Court in respect of the same matter unless it is to supplement the powers and procedures that have not been expressly stated in the Lands Tribunal Ordinance or the Lands Tribunal Rules in respect of that matter.

11. When the Tribunal adopts a provision of the Rules of the High Court, the provision and any practice direction in relation thereto shall be applied to the Tribunal in similar manner as it is applied in the Court of First Instance, subject to such modifications as may be necessary and appropriate in the context of the Tribunal. For instance, a reference to the "Court of First Instance" in the Rules of the High Court shall, in the Lands Tribunal, be construed as reference to the Tribunal; "judge" equates to the President, presiding officer or member; "plaintiff" equates to an applicant or appellant; "defendant" equates to a respondent; "Statement of Claim" equates to the Notice of Application; "Defence" equates to the Notice of Opposition, etc.

12. This direction shall come into effect on 2 April 2009.

Dated this 12th of February 2009.