Middle Templar 2020

Page 47

MIND THE GAP

CATRINA LAM & CORDELIA YEUNG

Mind the GAP The General Adjourned Period and the Coronavirus Pandemic in Hong Kong Catrina Lam was Called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1999. She is a member of Des Voeux Chambers. Catrina was a former Middle Temple Scholar and has been Secretary of the Middle Temple Society in Hong Kong since 2009. She was appointed an Honorary Member of the Middle Temple in 2018.

The word ‘unprecedented’ has been thrown around in the last few months when speaking of the global Coronavirus pandemic. This too captures the sentiment felt among the wider community and legal community in Hong Kong, including barristers and fellow Middle Templars. Days after the virus first reached the city, the judiciary began the General Adjourned Period (GAP). The Courts, and its registries and offices, were closed from Wednesday 29 January 2020 onwards, subject to urgent and essential hearings and matters. For litigants, the oft-quoted maxim attributed to William Gladstone, ‘justice delayed is justice denied’, rang ever true. The GAP threw into sharp relief the need for the Hong Kong judiciary to embrace technological developments. The Courts found themselves trying to navigate the crisis. In Cyberworks Audio Video Technology Ltd v Silver Kent Technology Ltd [2020] HKCFI 347 (Coleman J), the Court of First Instance ordered a telephonic hearing in lieu of an oral hearing, noting that the physical attendance of parties and/or their representatives together with the Judge and judiciary staff in a courtroom was not at the time permissible on public health grounds. Afterwards, on Thursday 2 April 2020, the Chief Judge of the High Court issued a Guidance Note recommending the use of videoconferencing facilities (VCF) where oral submissions were necessary. Equipment used at remote locations must be compatible with the Court’s VCF and meet the operational

requirements. Judges would consider which of their cases might be suitable for remote hearings using VCF. Following the Guidance Note, in CSFK v HWH [2020] HKCA 207, the Court of Appeal confirmed that there was nothing restricting the mode of receiving submissions and evidence as long as the judges sat in the High Court. Judges could determine the mode of hearing as a matter of case management if the dual requirements for fairness and openness were satisfied. Provided that an official and accurate record could be kept for the hearing, there was no reason not to embrace VCF hearings. Additionally, Mr Justice Yeung conducted a judicial review application through video-conferencing in Lui Chi Hang Hendrick v Independent Police Complaints Council [2020] HKCFI 614. The remote hearing took place on Tuesday 7 April 2020. Barristers made oral submissions from chambers in their robes and face masks. To ensure open justice, screens were set up inside the court room where the Judge sat (and at two lift lobbies outside the court room) broadcasting live counsel’s submissions so that the hearing remained accessible to the public. Mr Justice Yeung commented in Court that it was a ‘smooth hearing’. During the GAP, the Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA), the professional regulatory body for barristers, recommended its members not to go to court if they feel unwell or display any symptoms. We were advised to minimise travelling out of home. Challenges abound when balancing work and spending an unusually significant amount of time with family members in close quarters. Moreover, at once daunting and thrilling is the

2020 Middle Templar

Cordelia Yeung was Called to the Hong Kong Bar in 2018. She is a member of Alan Leong S.C.’s Chambers. She is developing a broad civil practice with a focus on commercial and family matters. Cordelia was a former Middle Temple Scholar and has been assisting the Middle Temple Society in Hong Kong since 2019.

experience of using VCF in all of its glory and unreliability. Frequent conversations among barristers now revolve around the ease of using Zoom and Bluejeans, and the relevant security issues. The pandemic has profoundly affected the work of both civil and criminal practitioners in private practice at the Bar. With reduced court work, and clients reticent to litigate or continue with ongoing proceedings, livelihoods are affected. These times have been particularly difficult for barristers under 7 years Call for whom it is not uncommon to foot a HKD20,000.00 bill (around £2,000) for office rent every month. In March, the HKBA announced a scheme to enable young barristers to obtain interest-free loans to offset expenses. The training received by the current pupil barristers has been significantly affected, given little or no opportunity to attend court. The HKBA has advised pupil masters to arrange for their pupils to accompany chamber-mates when such opportunity arises. Furthermore, some pupil barristers undertook advocacy training via Zoom in May. At the time of writing, there are around 1,040 confirmed cases in the city. The numbers are levelling off. On Monday 4 May 2020, the Courts re-opened, with various registries to follow gradually. There is a significant backlog of matters and hearings. There are also concerns of a ‘third wave’ of infections. As per the fighting spirit of Hong Kong, in these unprecedented times, the legal community will no doubt endeavour to find a new normal – or whatever is the closest to it.

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Temple Church Weddings

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page 145

New Masters of the Bench 2019-20

9min
pages 127-129

Middle Temple Students' Association

4min
page 126

Middle Temple Young Barristers' Association

7min
pages 124-125

Hall Committee

4min
page 123

The COIC Pupillage Matched Funded Scheme

3min
page 122

What Have the Bar Council and the Inn Ever Done for Me?

2min
page 119

Behind the Lens

8min
pages 116-118

Temple Residents' Association

4min
page 121

Valedictory: The Rt Hon. Lord Carnwath

7min
pages 114-115

Temple Church During Lockdown

7min
pages 112-113

Lent Reader’s Feast: The Highways, Byways and Blind Alleys of International Law

11min
pages 108-110

Temple Church Choir Summer Review

2min
page 111

Becoming a Barrister

15min
pages 103-105

Autumn Reader's Feast: Current Challenges in the Criminal Justice System

8min
pages 106-107

Talk to Spot

3min
page 102

The Divorce Blame Game is Nearly Over

6min
pages 100-101

You have the Right to Remain Unidentified

7min
pages 98-99

Levelling the Playing Field

8min
pages 96-97

A Day in the Country in Lockdown

9min
pages 92-93

Confronting the Challenges Presented by the Covid-19 Pandemic

8min
pages 90-91

Impeachment of a U.S. President

8min
pages 94-95

How Middle Temple Helped Me

3min
page 88

Don’t Let Commercial Awareness be a Bar to Success

4min
page 87

Student Life at the Inn

3min
page 86

In the Shoes of an Out of London Student

4min
page 85

The Inns of Court

3min
page 84

The ICCA Bar Course

3min
page 83

Troubled Journeys on the Path to Justice

3min
page 82

Turning the Tide against Corruption in the Congo

4min
page 81

My Journey to the Bar and Becoming the First Kurdish Iraqi Barrister

3min
page 80

Qualifying Sessions

4min
page 79

The Role of an Inn of Court

3min
page 78

Five Perspectives on Sponsorship

8min
pages 76-77

Advocacy at the Inn

7min
pages 74-75

Outreach

3min
page 72

Sherrard Conversations

3min
page 73

Mock Pupillage Interviews

7min
pages 68-69

Volunteering at Call Day

2min
pages 70-71

Mooting Trip to Cherokee

9min
pages 65-67

Education Update

4min
page 64

100 Years Since Helena Normanton's First Qualifying Session

2min
page 58

MTYBA & MTSA International Women's Day

2min
page 59

Créme de la Créme Climbing Rose

2min
page 62

Celebrating a Century of Women in Law

5min
pages 56-57

Circuit Societies

15min
pages 53-55

MTYBA Dark Waters Event

3min
page 63

The Rule of Law Under Attack

7min
pages 60-61

Working in the Seychelles

4min
page 52

An Increased Use of Technology in Gibraltar's Legal System

2min
page 51

Access to Justice during the Coronavirus Pandemic: The Malaysian Experience

8min
pages 48-49

Cross Border Practice in Europe and Brexit

4min
page 46

Business as Usual at the European Court of Justice Pending Brexit

7min
pages 44-45

Reflections on a Declaration of Friendship

7min
pages 42-43

Mind the Gap: The General Adjourned Period and the Coronavirus Pandemic in Hong Kong

4min
page 47

Amity Visit to Canada

6min
pages 40-41

Book Review: Equal Justice by Frederick Wilmot-Smith

3min
page 39

Book Review: Court Number One: The Old Bailey Trials that Defined Modern Britain by Thomas Grant

4min
page 38

Book Review: Simon Brown's Memoirs by the The Rt Hon The Lord Brown

4min
page 35

The Ceremonial Plate of the Middle Temple

4min
page 32

Lord Carson of Duncairn: Barrister, Statesman and Judge

11min
pages 27-29

Unshaken & Unshakeable

7min
pages 30-31

A Personal Collection of 15th Century Documents

17min
pages 23-26

Justiciability – A Forgotten Saga

9min
pages 33-34

Readers of the Temple: From the 16th to the 19th Century

9min
pages 20-22

A Potted History of the Office of the Under Treasurer

5min
pages 18-19

Equality and Diversity at the Bar Council

4min
page 13

The Spanish Influenza Pandemic

3min
page 17

Racial Equality, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Working Group

2min
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Black Lives Matter

4min
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BAME and the Bar

4min
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From the Treasurer

6min
pages 8-9

Speech at the Inauguration of the Middle Temple LGBTQ+ Forum

11min
pages 14-16

Under Treasurers’ Forewords

8min
pages 6-7
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