On 28 March 2024, the High Court handed down its reasons for judgment in Valsalan Ivy Vimala v Castka Richard Patrick Josef & Castka Gillian Hancer [2024] HKCFI 912. Lut Chi Au and Anthony Wong obtained an order to demolish the fence in a boundary dispute of land in the New Territories.

In gist, this was a dispute about the re-establishment of land boundaries. The Plaintiff and the Defendants are neighbours. Their respective lots of land are adjacent to each other and had a common boundary. The Defendants erected a fence, part of which protruded and cut the northern corner of the Plaintiff’s lot.

There were several survey plans by different surveyors, all of which showed that there was encroachment despite to different extents. The Joint Expert Report also concluded that there was encroachment. On the other hand, the Defendants’ case was that the fence was built along the tiles which were previously laid down by a construction company. The Defendant’s Expert unilaterally prepared a Supplementary Report which sought to establish a boundary different from the Joint Expert Report by following the tiles.

At issue was whether the floor tiles of the two lots can be a feature to re-establish the common boundary and hence any encroachment. The Court found that the laying out of the tiles cannot be regarded reliable evidence that survey work was done or the work was done accurately. The Court hence found in favour of the Plaintiff.

LC and Anthony were instructed by Tsang, Chan & Woo Solicitors & Notaries. The Court’s reasons for judgment can be found here.

LC was called to the Bar in 2013. He has a civil practice and is regularly instructed in chancery and commercial cases, including land, contentious probate, administration of high value estate, trust, civil fraud litigation and personal injuries matters. View LC’s profile for more details.

Anthony was called to the Bar in 2023. Anthony is developing a broad civil and criminal practice, and accepts instructions in all areas of Chambers’ work. He is an Associate of the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators, and is also developing a practice in alternative dispute resolution. View Anthony’s profile for more details.

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Felix Ng published an article to critically review how the common law has coped so far, in giving effect to property rights in cryptocurrency for civil fraud cases. He gives an analysis on (1) how misdiverted cryptocurrency can be traced into crypto-exchange platforms; and (2) how should the governing law (lex situs) for cryptoassets be determined.

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Our member Ian Chu has recently been appointed by the Department of Justice to be a member of the Advisory Group of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Lawyers. The Advisory Group will advise on the further development of legal business and enhancement of collaboration in legal services in the GBA. For details, please see https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202403/01/P2024030100407.htm?fontSize=1.

Ian looks forward to contributing to further the development of Hong Kong legal services in the GBA.

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Dr. DU, Duke Jinsong 杜勁松 was recently invited to give a speech on shareholders rights under common law and exchange views with more than 20 Shanghai-based companies law specialists. The newly amended PRC Companies Law will come into effect on 1 July 2024.

Please refer to the WeChat press by MHP law Firm for more details.

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Chambers is happy to announce that our Adrian and Ray successfully completed the SCIAHK & SCIA Dual Qualification Tribunal Secretary Training Program co-organized by South China International Arbitration Center (Hong Kong) (SCIAHK) and Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA).

This is the first Mainland China-Hong Kong cross-border arbitral proceedings management training jointly held by SCIAHK and SCIA, which aims to facilitate capacity building of professionals devoted to international arbitration. Dual-qualified tribunal secretaries are duly recognized by SCIAHK and SCIA and will have chances of being appointed to manage arbitral proceedings.

盧耀陽大律師及葉偉鋒大律師成功完成了由華南（香港）國際仲裁院和深圳國際仲裁院首次共同舉辦的“雙城兩院雙認證”仲裁庭秘書資格培訓計劃。該計劃為第一次中港跨境仲裁庭資歷培訓，旨在讓有志從事國際仲裁事業的專業人員，掌握和發展作為仲裁庭秘書的實務能力。此次培訓通過考核的專業人員能夠獲得雙院認證並有資格被選任參加“雙城兩院”仲裁案件程序管理。

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Our Christmas Cocktail Party and the 35^th Anniversary of Gilt Chambers Celebrations were successfully held on 1^st December 2023.

We were honoured by the presence of guests from the Judiciary, the Legislative Council, the Department of Justice, the Official Receiver’s Office, the Law Reform Commission, the Law Society of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Bar, etc. who joined us on this happy occasion, and took the time to share their valuable experiences with us.

We are grateful for your support and wish you a joyful holiday season filled with love, happiness and blessings.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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廣東星辰律師事務所高級合夥人、深圳律協理事樓洪博士、星辰律所高級合夥人王立律師和母健榮博士等六位星辰同仁於2023年12月7日蒞臨香港金葉大律師事務所訪問交流，金葉部份成員在場迎接和參與了歷時兩個多小時的座談會，大家交流了一些有益經驗和共同關心主題的觀點，氣氛融洽，獲益良多，為雙方的進一步交流合作建立了良好基礎。

Colleagues from Sincere Partners and Attorneys visited Gilt Chambers on 7th December 2023. Valuable experiences and common topics of interest were shared and discussed. Both parties benefited greatly from the exchange which established solid foundation for further cooperation.

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The Chinese University of Hong Kong Law Faculty (“CUHK Law”)  has approved recently a scholarship in the joint-name of Mr Du Duke Jinsong and Mrs Du, dedicated for the part-time JD program students.

Mr Du, an ex-investment banker and now a member of Gilt Chambers, obtained his JD from CUHK Law in 2020 after three years study in the part-time program.

Mr Du said,  “I am most grateful for the opportunity provided from CUHK Law School over the past few years, without which I would not be able to realise my dream and contribute to Hong Kong. I hope this scholarship from me and my wife would help more people to achieve the same”.

A link to the scholarship at CUHK Law is as follows: https://www.law.cuhk.edu.hk/app/study-with-us/scholarships/

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