Commercial Judicial Review: Law, Application & Strategy – 28 June 2022, 1pm to 2pm
As the only barristers’ Chambers in Hong Kong to be ranked in “Tier 1” for Administrative and Public Law by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2022, our Members are regularly called upon to handle a wide variety of matters in this complex area. In our upcoming seminar, public law practitioners Hectar Pun SC and Anson Wong Yu Yat will discuss the latest developments in commercial judicial review, and share their experience and tips on acting for parties aggrieved by (among others) letters of no consent and delisting decisions.
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Date: |
28 June 2022 (Tuesday) |
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| Time: | 1.00pm – 2.00pm HKT | ||
| CPD Accreditation: | 1 CPD point applied for (subject to confirmation by the Law Society of Hong Kong) | ||
| Venues: | • In-person Attendance — Denis Chang’s Chambers, 9/F, Tower One, Lippo Centre, 89 Queensway, Admiralty (Limited to 10 persons fully vaccinated with three doses of COVID-19 vaccine)
• Online Attendance — Zoom |
Seminar Overview
Increasingly, companies or individuals aggrieved by the decisions of public bodies or law enforcement agencies turn to judicial review in a bid to protect their valuable business interests.
Compared to ordinary challenges mounted by individuals, the scope of legal arguments in commercial judicial review is just as broad and constantly evolving. In addition to relying on the traditional grounds of illegality, irrationality and procedural unfairness, corporate applicants have also invoked human rights or constitutional grounds to defend their interests.
In recent years, the courts have seen a growth in challenges against letters of no consent issued by the Commissioner of Police and the cancellations of listing of companies on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Letters of no consent have been issued by the Hong Kong police to informally “freeze” bank accounts before obtaining the court’s formal restraint orders. With the increasing number of email fraud cases or the like, the use of letters of no consent as well as related challenges can be expected to recur. Moreover, while delisting decisions by the Stock Exchange are nothing new, affected companies have become more ready to pursue legal remedies by way of judicial review.
What is the current state of the law in respect of commercial judicial review? And what strategic considerations and pitfalls should practitioners note when they handle such challenges for corporate or individual clients? In our upcoming seminar, leading public law practitioners Hectar Pun SC and Anson Wong Yu Yat will discuss the latest developments in commercial judicial review, and share their experience and tips on acting for parties aggrieved by (among others) letters of no consent and delisting decisions.
In-person Attendance
A maximum of 10 places will be available and allocated on a first come first served basis.
In order to safeguard the health of Chambers’ Members and staff, only attendees who have received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to the seminar date (28 June 2022) will be admitted. All confirmed attendees are required to provide their vaccination record in either digital or printed form for inspection by Chambers staff. Thank you in advance for your understanding and co-operation.
Due to health concerns, at this stage, we will unfortunately not be able to admit persons who are medically exempted from vaccination.
| In-Person Attendance: Click Here to RSVP |
Online Attendance
To attend via Zoom, please click on the button below to secure your place.
| Online Attendance via Zoom: Click Here to RSVP |
We look forward to seeing you at our event. For enquiries, please reach out to Sonia Chan, Practice Development Manager, at [email protected].
Presenters
| Hectar Pun SC
“A very knowledgeable and hard-working barrister. He can always deal with difficult issues raised by the judge in court.” Hectar was called to the Bar in 1995 and appointed Senior Counsel in 2015. Hectar’s practice spans many areas including constitutional and administrative law, human rights law, immigration law, criminal law, land law, company law and commercial law. He appears regularly on behalf of applicants in major judicial review proceedings. Hectar has acted for the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, legislative councillors, district councillors, demonstrators, police officers, prisoners, refugees and asylum seekers, tenants of public housing estates, homosexuals, transsexuals, the disabled and the underprivileged, etc. In the realm of commercial judicial review, Hectar recently acted for the Applicant, a Bermuda-incorporated company, in challenging the cancellation of the company’s listing in Up Energy Development Group Ltd v Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd [2021] HKCFI 3813. He also advises on and acts for parties affected by letters of no consent issued by the Commissioner of Police. Hectar has served on the Bar Council of the Hong Kong Bar Association as well as a number of its subcommittees. He was the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Civic Education and the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs & Human Rights from 2016 to 2018. He also regularly teaches constitutional law, administrative law and human rights law at law schools in Hong Kong. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the City University of Hong Kong and an Adjunct Professor of Law at The University of Hong Kong. Find out more from Hectar’s profile.
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Anson Wong Yu Yat
“Anson is very responsive and hard-working. A junior with good judgement.” Anson has appeared in more than 100 court judgments (including 14 cases in the Court of Final Appeal with 10 substantive appeals) over the mere span of less than 7 years of full practice, reflecting the exceptional wealth of experience and exposure in civil litigation for his seniority. Anson has developed a broad civil practice. He is experienced in handling complex questions of law, including those of great general or public importance which reached the CFA. Recently, Anson has acted as junior counsel in three civil appeals (among others) before the CFA dealing with important questions of law concerning insolvency matters, land law and equity, and service out of jurisdiction: see Re Hsin Chong Construction Co Ltd (2021) 24 HKCFAR 98, Cheung Lai Mui v Cheung Wai Shing (2021) 24 HKCFAR 116 and Employees Compensation Assistance Fund Board v Fong Chak Kwan (FACV 5/2022, heard on 19 May 2022) respectively. Anson also has vast experience in handling complex public law issues in a wide range of areas, including human rights, regulatory, disciplinary, immigration, discrimination and election-related matters, etc. For example, he acted for the applicants in the landmark judicial review cases challenging the constitutionality of the Emergency Regulations Ordinance and the “anti-mask” law (see Leung Kwok Hung v Secretary for Justice (2020) 23 HKCFAR 518 (CFA); [2020] 2 HKLRD 771 (CA); [2020] 1 HKLRD 1 (CFI)), as well as the constitutionality of the police power to search without warrant the digital contents of a mobile phone or similar device upon arrest (see Sham Wing Kan v Commissioner of Police [2020] 2 HKLRD 529). In the realm of commercial judicial review, Anson has recently acted for a Bermuda-incorporated company in challenging the cancellation of the company’s listing status in Up Energy Development Group Ltd v The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd [2021] HKCFI 3813 (led by Mr Hectar Pun SC). He also appeared as sole advocate for the applicant in Brightoil Petroleum (Holdings) Ltd v The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd [2020] HKCFI 1601 in a similar challenge. Visit Anson’s profile for more details.
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