The Basic Law is the constitutional document of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Apart from the text of the Basic Law itself, this site includes background information and a searchable “Basic Law Court Case Database” of decisions relating to its interpretation.

Created by a team at the University of Hong Kong, Community Legal Information Centre (CLIC) is an easily digested guide, mostly in question and answer form, to the Hong Kong legal system, legal sources and a number of specific legal topics. There are links to sources throughout the text.

Hong Kong’s official Gazette is published weekly and contains ordinances, regulations and bills as well as company winding-up and other notices. This web site makes available the full text, volume 4 (May 2000) onwards. Issues may be browsed by year/volume; there is also a search facility.

This database, on the University of Hong Kong Libraries site, gives access to the seven consolidations of the Laws of Hong Kong published between 1890 and 1964, the last being updated to 1989. The consolidations may be searched individually or collectively.

The web site of the Hong Kong Legal Information Institute (HKLII) contains full text judgments of the Court of Final Appeal, 1997 onwards, Court of Appeal, 1946 onwards (except 1949-1960), Court of First Instance, 1946 onwards (except 1949-1967), District Court, 1946 onwards (except 1949-1967), Family Court, 1973 onwards (except 1978-1979, 1982, 1986-1994) and Lands Tribunal, 1982 onwards. The legislation section has all current Ordinances and Regulations. Other resources include the Hong Kong Treaty Series and a database of Practice Directions.

The Court of Final Appeal (CFA) is the final appellate court within Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, replacing the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Site content includes information on its jurisdiction, constitution and judiciary; procedural rules and practice directions; and details of decided and forthcoming cases. Judgments are available principally via a link to HKLII’s CFA database. There is also a Recent Judgments section, containing judgments which have been handed down within the current or last month and may not yet have been published on HKLII.

Hong Kong e-Legislation (HKeL) is an official electronic database of the legislation of Hong Kong in English and Chinese. It replaced the previous Bilingual Laws Information System (BLIS) and is maintained by Hong Kong’s Department of Justice. It provides current and past (point-in-time) versions of consolidated legislation dating back to 30 June 1997, together with constitutional instruments, various indices and tables of Ordinances, and glossaries of legal terms. Legislation may be searched, or browsed by title. PDF copies marked “verified copy” have official legal status; verification is being carried out progressively, and HKeL will ultimately contain verified copies of all Hong Kong consolidated legislation.

The Hong Kong Maritime Law Association (HKMLA) is an association of Hong Kong lawyers, shipowners and others concerned with maritime law. The web site provides a directory of HKMLA members and details of the association’s meetings and other activities. The principal Hong Kong ordinances relating to maritime law are listed by title with links to full text, and there is also a link to the Hong Kong Judiciary site for judgments in maritime causes.

The Hong Kong Judiciary web site contains judgments which are of significance as legal precedents on points of law, practice and procedure from the following courts, delivered between 1946 and 1948, and from 1966 onwards: Court of Final Appeal [NB established 1997], Court of Appeal of the High Court, High Court, Competition Tribunal, District Court, Family Court and Lands Tribunal. Practice directions, forms and daily cause lists are also available.

The Commission was established in 1980 to make recommendations for law reform in Hong Kong. These are contained in its reports, the first published in 1982, all of which are available here, together with consultation papers, 1993 onwards. The site also provides information on implementation of the Commission’s recommendations, its current projects and membership, and an extensive collection of legal links.

The Law Society is the professional association for solicitors in Hong Kong. Site content includes the Guide to Professional Conduct; the Law List; a collection of directories covering both individuals and firms; and information on how to be admitted, whether as a Hong Kong lawyer or a foreign lawyer.

The Legislative Council (LegCo) is the legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The “Council Meetings” section of its web site, within “LegCo Business”, includes Bills, Hansard and subsidiary legislation for the current Council. Select “Current and Past Meeting Records” for earlier sessions. This section also has reports of sittings of the former (colonial) Legislative Council, 1858-1997.