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Legal Advice Scheme for Unrepresented Litigants on Civil Procedures (Procedural Advice Scheme)

The Procedural Advice Scheme

    Background
    In 2011, the Government introduced a Pilot Scheme on free procedural legal advice for Litigants in Person. With the success of the Pilot Scheme, it was regularised in 2016 to become the Advice Scheme for Unrepresented Litigants on Civil Procedures (the Scheme). An Advisory Committee on Legal Advice for Unrepresented Litigants, which comprised a Chairman and 9 unofficial members from different backgrounds, including the legal, social welfare, professional and academic field, was set up to provide advice on the operation of the Scheme from 2016 to 2022.

    Scope of the Scheme
  • provides free legal advice on civil procedural matters for unrepresented litigants who commence or are parties to legal proceedings in the following Courts but not including civil proceedings in other tribunals;
    Lands Tribunal
    District Court
    Family Court
    Court of First Instance
    Court of Appeal of the High Court
    Court of Final Appeal
  • will not provide advice on merits of cases or act as legal representative;
  • and operates on a “first-come-first-served” basis.

For Terms and Conditions (This link will open in a new windowClick here) and Personal Information Collection Statement (This link will open in a new windowClick here) of the Scheme

For video about the Scheme (This link will open in a new windowClick here)

* The terms and conditions of the Scheme are subject to change without prior notice.

Eligibility

Service is available for unrepresented litigants who –

  • have not been granted legal aid and have not engaged lawyers;
  • are parties or who wish to join as parties to civil proceedings; and
  • are not seeking advice for limited companies, societies, associations.
Examples

Examples of advice given

  • explaining court rules and procedures, court documents, orders, trial procedures;
  • how to commence a court action;
  • how to make the various interlocutory applications;
  • how to prepare court documents;
  • how to prepare for a hearing;
  • explaining the costs involved in proceedings and the taxation of costs;
  • how to enforce a judgment or an order; and
  • explaining the procedures for launching an appeal.

Examples of areas not covered

  • legal aid application and legal aid appeal;
  • applications for letters of administration and the grant of probate;
  • petition/discharge of self-bankruptcy order;
  • cases involving law which is outside Hong Kong’s judicial system;
  • seeking advice for limited companies, societies, associations;
  • drafting legal documents;
  • applicants repeatedly seeking advice concerning the same issues or subject matters without additional information;
  • case involving merits;
  • cases involving hypothetical questions;
  • matters with no legal procedural issues involved;
  • the matters have been solved or superseded by event; or
  • cases involving complicated legal issues which require detailed research and studying of documents.
How to Apply
1
  • Application must be made in person at the Procedural Advice Scheme Office. Applicants must provide identification documents.
  • Applicants who are parties or wish to join as parties to the civil proceedings must provide relevant and recent court documents.
2
3
  • Provided that the legal advice sought by the applicants is within the scope of the Scheme, eligible applicants will wait for their turn to attend the Advice Sessions. Most Advice Sessions are conducted within the same day.

For video about application procedure (This link will open in a new windowClick here)

The Service is available to all eligible applicants. Please visit the This link will open in a new windowScheme Webpage for eligibility requirements. For submitting applications, please visit This link will open in a new windowhttps://eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/cso001/en/.

Attention: Please note that the appointment is NOT yet confirmed after the submission of online application, the Scheme Office will further contact you by email. For enquiry, please contact 2259 5017.

Advice Sessions

Advice sessions are attended by lawyers.

The Scheme will arrange eligible applicants to attend Advice Session (AS) of no more than 30 minutes. Applicants may attend a maximum of five ASs every three months for the same case.

Enrol as Community Lawyers

Lawyers who have at least two years' post-qualification experience and holding a current practicing certificate are eligible to enrol as Community Lawyers (CLs) of the Procedural Advice Scheme in their personal capacity on a pro bono basis.

Law firms can also participate in the Procedural Advice Scheme and assign eligible lawyers to enrol as CLs.

The enrolment form for individual lawyers can be downloaded This link will open in a new windowhere. The enrolment form for participating law firms can be downloaded This link will open in a new windowhere. The enrolment is a continuous exercise and registration is welcome any time of the year.

Multimedia Gallery

Poster and Pamphlets

Procedural Advice Scheme Poster (This link will open in a new windowClick here)

Procedural Advice Scheme Pamphlet in English (This link will open in a new windowClick here)

Procedural Advice Scheme Pamphlet in Ethnic Minorities Languages
(This link will open in a new windowBengali, This link will open in a new windowHindi, This link will open in a new windowIndonesian, This link will open in a new windowNepali, This link will open in a new windowPunjabi, This link will open in a new windowTagalog, This link will open in a new windowTamil, This link will open in a new windowThai, This link will open in a new windowUrdu, This link will open in a new windowVietnamese)


Videos

Please note: From 4 September 2023, the Procedural Advice Scheme has uplifted the income eligibility limit and accept applications via Online Application Service.

Introduction to the Scheme (English)

Application Procedure (English)

Contact Us
Address

Admiralty Office
Room LG217, LG2/F, High Court Building, 38 Queensway, Hong Kong.

Wanchai Office
Room 437, 4/F, Wanchai Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

Office Hours

8:45 am to 1:00 pm
2:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Mondays to Fridays (except public holidays)

Cut-off time for accepting applications for each half day is at 12:30 pm and 5 pm respectively.
Telephone
2259 5017
The Procedural Advice Scheme

    Background
    In 2011, the Government introduced a Pilot Scheme on free procedural legal advice for Litigants in Person. With the success of the Pilot Scheme, it was regularised in 2016 to become the Advice Scheme for Unrepresented Litigants on Civil Procedures (the Scheme). An Advisory Committee on Legal Advice for Unrepresented Litigants, which comprised a Chairman and 9 unofficial members from different backgrounds, including the legal, social welfare, professional and academic field, was set up to provide advice on the operation of the Scheme from 2016 to 2022.

    Scope of the Scheme
  • provides free legal advice on civil procedural matters for unrepresented litigants who commence or are parties to legal proceedings in the following Courts but not including civil proceedings in other tribunals;
    Lands Tribunal
    District Court
    Family Court
    Court of First Instance
    Court of Appeal of the High Court
    Court of Final Appeal
  • will not provide advice on merits of cases or act as legal representative;
  • and operates on a “first-come-first-served” basis.

For Terms and Conditions (This link will open in a new windowClick here) and Personal Information Collection Statement (This link will open in a new windowClick here) of the Scheme

For video about the Scheme (This link will open in a new windowClick here)

* The terms and conditions of the Scheme are subject to change without prior notice.

Eligibility

Service is available for unrepresented litigants who –

  • have not been granted legal aid and have not engaged lawyers;
  • are parties or who wish to join as parties to civil proceedings; and
  • are not seeking advice for limited companies, societies, associations.
Examples

Examples of advice given

  • explaining court rules and procedures, court documents, orders, trial procedures;
  • how to commence a court action;
  • how to make the various interlocutory applications;
  • how to prepare court documents;
  • how to prepare for a hearing;
  • explaining the costs involved in proceedings and the taxation of costs;
  • how to enforce a judgment or an order; and
  • explaining the procedures for launching an appeal.

Examples of areas not covered

  • legal aid application and legal aid appeal;
  • applications for letters of administration and the grant of probate;
  • petition/discharge of self-bankruptcy order;
  • cases involving law which is outside Hong Kong’s judicial system;
  • seeking advice for limited companies, societies, associations;
  • drafting legal documents;
  • applicants repeatedly seeking advice concerning the same issues or subject matters without additional information;
  • case involving merits;
  • cases involving hypothetical questions;
  • matters with no legal procedural issues involved;
  • the matters have been solved or superseded by event; or
  • cases involving complicated legal issues which require detailed research and studying of documents.
How to Apply
1
  • Application must be made in person at the Procedural Advice Scheme Office. Applicants must provide identification documents.
  • Applicants who are parties or wish to join as parties to the civil proceedings must provide relevant and recent court documents.
2
3
  • Provided that the legal advice sought by the applicants is within the scope of the Scheme, eligible applicants will wait for their turn to attend the Advice Sessions. Most Advice Sessions are conducted within the same day.

For video about application procedure (This link will open in a new windowClick here)

The Service is available to all eligible applicants. Please visit the This link will open in a new windowScheme Webpage for eligibility requirements. For submitting applications, please visit This link will open in a new windowhttps://eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/cso001/en/.

Attention: Please note that the appointment is NOT yet confirmed after the submission of online application, the Scheme Office will further contact you by email. For enquiry, please contact 2259 5017.

Advice Sessions

Advice sessions are attended by lawyers.

The Scheme will arrange eligible applicants to attend Advice Session (AS) of no more than 30 minutes. Applicants may attend a maximum of five ASs every three months for the same case.

Enrol as Community Lawyers

Lawyers who have at least two years' post-qualification experience and holding a current practicing certificate are eligible to enrol as Community Lawyers (CLs) of the Procedural Advice Scheme in their personal capacity on a pro bono basis.

Law firms can also participate in the Procedural Advice Scheme and assign eligible lawyers to enrol as CLs.

The enrolment form for individual lawyers can be downloaded This link will open in a new windowhere. The enrolment form for participating law firms can be downloaded This link will open in a new windowhere. The enrolment is a continuous exercise and registration is welcome any time of the year.

Multimedia Gallery

Poster and Pamphlets

Procedural Advice Scheme Poster (This link will open in a new windowClick here)

Procedural Advice Scheme Pamphlet in English (This link will open in a new windowClick here)

Procedural Advice Scheme Pamphlet in Ethnic Minorities Languages
(This link will open in a new windowBengali, This link will open in a new windowHindi, This link will open in a new windowIndonesian, This link will open in a new windowNepali, This link will open in a new windowPunjabi, This link will open in a new windowTagalog, This link will open in a new windowTamil, This link will open in a new windowThai, This link will open in a new windowUrdu, This link will open in a new windowVietnamese)


Videos

Please note: From 4 September 2023, the Procedural Advice Scheme has uplifted the income eligibility limit and accept applications via Online Application Service.

Introduction to the Scheme (English)

Application Procedure (English)

Contact Us
Address

Admiralty Office
Room LG217, LG2/F, High Court Building, 38 Queensway, Hong Kong.

Wanchai Office
Room 437, 4/F, Wanchai Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

Office Hours

8:45 am to 1:00 pm
2:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Mondays to Fridays (except public holidays)

Cut-off time for accepting applications for each half day is at 12:30 pm and 5 pm respectively.
Telephone
2259 5017

The Procedural Advice Scheme Office has expanded the scope of the Online Application Service to all eligible applicants and uplifted the income eligibility limit. Please visit the Scheme’s Webpage for details.