SUPREME COURT ORDINANCE
Title
SUPREME COURT ORDINANCE
Description
No. 6 of 1884.
An Ordinance to repeal Ordinance No. 15 of 1844, for the Establishment
of a Supreme Court of Judicature at Hongkong, and to substitute
other provisions in lieu thereof.
[19th August, 1845.]
WHEREAS it is expedient that the matters embraced in Ordinance No. 15
relating to the establishment of .the Supreme Court of Hongkong, trial by,
jury, criminal proceedings, and the summary jurisdiction of the Court,
should be pro-
vided for by separate and distinct ordinances; Be it therefore enacted
and ordained
by His Excellency the Governor of Hongkong, by and with the advice of the
Legislative
Council thereof, that the said Ordinance No. 15 shall, from and after the
passing of
'this Ordinance, be, and the same is hereby repealed.
Former court 2. And be it further enacted and ordained, that from and
after the passing of ng
abolished. this Ordinance, the Court at Hongkong with criminal arid
admiralty jurisdiction, which
has hitherto been holden by the Chief Superintendent, shall be, and it is
hereby
abolished.
A Supreme Court 8. And be it further enacted and ordained, that there
shall be within and for the
i ettuted to be Colony of Hongkong a Court, which shall be called 'The
Supreme Court of Hongkong,''
therein.
and that the said Supreme Court of Hongkong shall be a Court of Retard.
ORDINANCE No. G of 184.
Supreme Court.
4. And be it farther enacted and ordained, that the law of England shall
be in a°.
full force in the said Colony of Hongkong, except where the same shall be
inapplicable ~,r ~~,fi~°dt°
to the local circumstances of the s''aid Colony, or of its inhabitants;
and that in all
matters relating to the practice and proceedings of the said Supreme
Court, the practice
of the English Courts shall be in force, unless and until otherwise
ordered by rule of
the said Court.
5. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supremo Court of
Hong- Constitution of
kong shall consist of, and be holden by, and before, a Judge to be called
the Chief Court.
Justice of the Supreme Court of Hongkong and its dependencies, and to be
appointed
by Letters Patent under the public seal of the Colony from time to time
by the
Governor of Hongkong, in accordance with such instructions as ho may
receive from
Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors; and such Chief Justice shall hold
his office
during the pleasure of Her said Majesty, subject to suspension by the
governor in like
manner as other officers in the said Colony: Provided that in case the
said office of
Chief Justice shall become vacant by death or otherwise, it shall be
lawful for the
Governor to appoint another fit and proper person to fill the said office
of Chief Justice,
until Her said Majesty's pleasure be known ; or in case of the temporary
illness or
absence of the Chief Justice, it shad be lawful for the Governor to
appoint another fit
and proper person to fill the said office of Chief .Justice until the
Chief Justice shall
resume the duties of his said office.
6. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supreme Court
shall have Seal of the Cottet.
and.nse, as occasion may require, a seal, bearing a device and impression
of the Royal
Arena; within an exergue or label surrounding the same, with this
inscription, '1 The
Seal of the Supreme Court of Hongkong,' and all writs and other process
issuing out
of the said Court shall be sealed therewith.
7. And be it further enacted and ordained, that no Judge of the said
Supreme Judges to hold
Court shall be capable of accepting, taktaking, or an other office or lace
of no other office
g~ performing, y P n
profit or emolument, on pain that the acceptance of any such other office
or place as
aforesaid, shall be and be deemed in law de facto an avoidance of his
office of Judge,
and the salary thereof shall cease, and be :doeriied to have ceased
accordingly, from the
time of such acceptance of any such other o1fiee or place. x
$. And be it further enacted and ordained, that there shall be and belong
to the Officers of the
said Supreme Court the following officers, that is to say, a Registrar, a
clerk, and an Court.
interpreter thereof, and such, and so many other officers, as to the
Governor, or Acting
Governor for the time being, of the said Colony, shall from time to time
appear to be
necessary for the administration of Justice, .and the due execution of
all the powers
and authorities which are granted and committed to the said Court by this
Ordinance.
9. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the several superior
officers of the
said Court, who now are, or hereafter may be appointed to their said
offices by Her
Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, shall hold their several offices
during the pleasure
of Her said Majesty, subject to suspension by the Governor, in like
manner: as other
Officers how to
hold office.
Admission of
barristers and
attorafes.
ORDINANCE No. 6 of 1845.
Supreme Court.
officers in the said Colony; and that all other officers, shall be
removable from their
several offices in the said Court by the Governor, or Acting Governor for
the time
being, upon reasonable cause.
10. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supreme Court
is hereby
authorized and empowered to approve, admit, and enrol such persons as
shall have
been admitted barristers or advocates in Great Britain or Ireland, to
practise as bar.
ristera; and such persona as shall have been admitted as solicitors,
attornies, or writers
in one of the Courts at Westminster, Dublin, or Edinburgh, or as proctors
in any
,.Ecclesiastical Court in England, or who shall have served for a period
of three years as
an articled clerk to any solicitor, attorney, or proctor, actually
practising as such within
the Colony of Hongkong, or shall have been admitted as solicitors,
attorniea, or proc-
tors,~in any other of Her Majesty's British colonies, to practise as
solicitors, attornies,
and proctors in the said Court; subject nevertheless to be removed and
struck off from
the rolls of the said Court, upon reasonable cause. [Repealed by
Ordinance No. 3 of
1871.]
Fit persons to
be admitted to 11. Provided always, and be it further enacted and
ordained, that in case there
practise for shall not be a sufficient number of barristers, solicitors,
attornies, and proctors within
three months in
case ornacaeatty. the said Colony, competent and willing to appear and.
act for the suitors of the said
Supreme Court, it shall be lawful for the said Court, and the said Court
is hereby
authorized, to admit temporarily so many other fit and proper persons to
appear and
act as barristers, solicitors, attbrniea, and proctors, as may be
necessary, according to
such rules and regulations as the said Court shall, for that purpose,
make and establish:
Provided that the persona so admitted shall be admitted for a period of
three months
only, and shah not be readmitted without obvious necessity.
Sheriff of Hong-
koag to eaeente
write and pro=
case'.
12. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the sheriff of Hongkong
for the
time being shall, by himself ox his sufficient deputy, (to be by him
appointed, and
duly authorized under his hand and seal, and for whom he shall be
responsible during
his continuing in such office,) execute, and the said sheriff and his
said deputy is and
are hereby authorized to execute all writs, 'summonses, rules, orders,
warrants, com.
mands, and processes of the said Supreme Court, (other than such as shall
be issued
under the aurizmary jurisdiction of the said Court, as hereinafter
provided by Ordinance
No. 6 of 185,) and make a return of the same, together with the manner of
the execu-
tion thereof, to the skid Court, and to receive and detain in prison all
such persons as
shall be committed to the custody of such sheriff by the said Court.
[Repealed by Or.
d%nanca No. l of 1873. ]
13. And be it further enacted and ordained, that whenever the said Supreme
Court shall direct ox award any process against the said sheriff, or
award any process in
any cause, matter, or thing wherein the said sheriff, on account of his
being related to
the parties, or any of them, or by reason of any good cause of challenge
which would
be allowed against any sheriff in England, cannot or ought rift by law to
execute the
game, in every such case the said Court shall name and appoint some other
fit person
Process against
sheriff.
ORDINANCE \To. 6 of 184.
O'upreme Court.
to execute and return the same, and the said process shall be directed to
the person so
to be named for that purpose, and the cause of such special proceedings
shall be sug.
gested and entered on the records ,.-of the said Court. [Repealed b8
Ordinance No. 1 of
1873.
14. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supreme Court
shall Jurisdiction of
have the same jurisdiction in the said Colony of Hongkong and its
dependencies, as
Her Majesty's Courts of Queen's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer,
lawfully have tegai.
in England; and shall be a Court of Oyer and Terminer and Gaol delivery,
Assize, and
Nisi Prius.
16. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supreme Court
shall be
a Court of Equity, with such and the like jurisdiction as the Court of
Chancery in
England; and shall have and execute all and singular'the powers and
authorities of
the Lord High Chancellor of England, with full liberty to appoint and
control guar-
dians of infants, and their estates, and also keepers of the persona and
estates of
idiots, lunatics, and such as being of unsound mind, are unable to govern
themselves
and their estates.
16. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supreme Court
shall Eeclesisacica.
be a Court of Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, with full power to grant
probates, under the
seal of the said Court, of the last wills and testaments of all or any of
the inhabitants
of the said Colony and. its dependencies, and all other persons who shall
die, and leave
'personal effects within the said Colony and its dependencies; and to
commit letters of
administration, under the seal of the said Court, of the goods, chattels,
credits, and all
other effects whatsoever of the persons aforesaid, who shall die
intestate, or who
having left a will, shall not have named an executor resident within the
said Colony or
its dependencies; or where an executor, resident as aforesaid, being duly
cited, shall not.
appear and sue forth such probate: annexing the will to the letters of
administration,
when such persons shall have left a will without naming an executor, or
where an
executor shall have been named not resident within the said Colony, or
where an
executor shall have been named resident within the said Colony or its
dependencies, but
who, being duly, cited thereunto, shall not appear and sue forth a
probate thereof: and to,
sequester the goods and chattels, credits, and other effects whatsoever
of such persons
so dying, in cases allowed by law, as the same is and maybe now used in
the diocese
of London: and to demand, require, take, hear, examine, and allow, and,
if occasion
require, to, disallow and reject the account of them, in such manner and
form as may be
used in the said diocese and to do all other things whatsoever needful
and necessary in
that behalf. [Repeated by Ordinances No. 5 of 1858 and No. 8 of 1860.]
1'7. Provided always, and be it further enacted and ordained, that the
said Courcta xeeerde
Supreme Court is hereby authorized and required, where letters of
administration shall =.ofrevn~.
be committed with the will annexed for want of an executor applying in
due time to
sue forth the probate, ko reserve in such letters of administration full
power and.
authority to revoke the same, and to grant probate of the said will to
such executor?
Court.
Equitable.
Oonrtto grant
letters of admi-
nistration to
nest of kin,
Administrator
to eater into.
bond.
ORDINANCE No. 6 of 1845.
Supreme Court.
whenever he shall duly appear and sue forth the same. [Repealed by
Ordinances No. 5
of 1858 cued No. 8 of 1860.E
1$. And~be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supreme Court
shall
grant and commit letters of administration to any one or more of the
lawful next of
kin of persons so dying as aforesaid, being then resident within the
jurisdiction of the
said Court, and being of the age of twenty-one years; and in ease no such
person shall
then be residing within the jurisdiction o the said Court, or, being
duly cited, shall
or totnexa. not appear and pray the same, to the Registrar of the said
Court, or to such person or.
gietrar.
persona, whether creditor or creditors, or not, of the deceased person,
as the Court
'shad see fit: Provided always, that probates of wills, and letters of
administration to
be granted by the said Court, shall be limited to such money, goods,
chattels, credits,
and effects as the deceased person at the time of his or her death shall
have been
entitled to within the said Colony of Hongkong and its dependencies.
[Repealed by
Ordinances No. 5 of 1858 and No. 8 of 18fi0.j
1(); And be it further enacted and ordained, that every person to whom
letters of
administration shall be committed shall, before the granting thereof,
give sufficient
security, by bond to be entered into to Her Majesty, Her Heirs and
Successors, for the
payment of a certain sum of money, with one, two, or more sureties,
respect being had
to the valve of the estates, credits, and effects of the deceased; which
bond shall be
deposited in the said Court among the records thereof, and there safely
kept, and a
copy thereof shall be also recorded among the proceedings of the said
Court; and the r
Condition of condition of the said band shall be to the following
effect,-' that if the above bounden
bond.
'adminiatra'tor o the goods, chattels, and effects of the deceased, do
make, or cause to
'be made, a true and perfect inventory of all and singular the goods,
credits, and
'effects of the said deceased, which have or shall come to the hands,
possession, or
`° knowledge of him the said administrator, or to the hands or possession
of any other
`° person or persons for him, and the same so made do exhibit into the
Supreme Court
'of Hongkong, at or before a day therein to be specified; and the same
goods, chattels,
`° credits, and effects, and all other the goods, chattels, credits, and
effects of the
`° deceased at the time of his death; or which at any time afterwards
shall come to,
`° the hands or possession of such administrator, or to the hands or
possession of any
!° other person or persons for him, shall well and truly administer
according to law;
'and further shall make, or cause to be made, a true and just account of
his said°
'administration,'at or before a time therein to be specified, and
afterwards from time
`` to time as he, she, or they shall be lawfully required; and all the
rent and residue of
`the said goods, chattels, credits, and effects which shall be found from
time to time
'remaining upon the said administration account, the same being first
examined and.
`o allowed by the said Court, shall and do pay and dispose of in a due
course of
`° administration, or in such manner as the said Court shall direct, then
this obligation
How bond to be « to be void and of none effect or else to be aid remain in
full force and virtue.' And
put in suit.
in ease it shall be -necessary to put the said bond in suit, for ,the
sake of obtaining the
effect thereof for the benefit of such person or persons as shall appear
to the said Coa#
.
ORDINANCE NO. 6 of 1$45.
Supreme Court.
to be interested therein, such person or persons from time to time giving
satisfactory
security for paying all such costs as shall arise from the said suit,
such person or persons
shall, by order of the said Court;, be allowed to sue the same in the
name of the
Attorney General for the time being of the said Colony, and the said bond
shall not be
sued in any other manner. Repealed by Ordinances No. 5 of 1858 and No. 8
of 1860.
20: And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supreme Court
shall
fix certain periods when all persons to whom probates of wills and
letters of administra-
tion shall be granted by the said Court shall from time to time, until
the effects of the
deceased persons shall be fully administered, pass their accounts
relating thereto before
the said Court; and in case the effects of the deceased shall not be
fully administered
within the time for that purpose to be fixed by the said Court, then, or
at any earlier
time, if the said Court shall see fit so to direct, the person or persons
to whom such
probate or administration shall be granted shall pay, deposit, and
dispose of the balance
of money belonging to the estate of the deceased then in his, her, or
their hands, and
all money which shall afterwards come into his, her, or their hands, and
also all precious
stones, jewels, bonds, bills, and securities belonging to the estate of
the deceased, in
such manner, and unto such persons, as the said Court shall direct for
safe custody;
and the said Court shall from time to time make such order as shall be
just for the due
administration of such assets, and for the payment or remittance thereof,
or any part
thereof, as occasion shall require, to or for the use of any person or
persons, whether
resident or non-resident in the said Colony and its dependencies, who may
be entitled
thereto, or any part thereof, as creditors, legatees, or next of kin, or
by any other right
or title whatsoever. [Repealed by Ordinances No. 5 of 1858 and No. 8 of
1860.]
21. And be it further enacted and ordained, that it shall and may be
lawful for
the said Supreme Court, to allow to any executor or administrator of the
effects of any
deceased person (except as herein mentioned) such commission or
percentage out of
their assets as shall be just and reasonable for their pains and trouble
therein: Provided
always, that no allowance whatever shall be made for the pains and
trouble of any
executor or administrator who shall neglect to pass his accounts at such
time, or to
dispose of any money, goods, chattels or securities with which he shall
be chargeable in
such manner, as in pursuance of any general of special rule or order of
the said Court,
shall be requisite; and moreover every such executor or administrator so
neglecting to
pass his accounts, or to dispose of any such money, goods, chattels, or
securities, with
which he shall be chargeable, shall be charged with interest at the rate
then current within
the said Colony and its dependencies, for such sum and sums of money, as
from time
to time shall have been in his hands, whether he shall or shall not make
interest thereof.
(Repealed by Ordinance No. 8 of 1860.]
22. And be it further enacted and ordained: that where letters of
administration, payment of
moneyinto
or 11 ad colligenda bona' have been granted to the Registrar under an Act
of Parliament' Treasury.
passed at a session holden in the 39th and 40th years of the reign of
King George the
Third, iatituled An Act for establighing further Regulations for the
Governhtent of the s9 & 40 Goo. 3, o.
79. s. 21.
British Territories in India, and the better administration of Justice
within the same, or
Court to fix
periods at which
accounts shall
he passed.
Allowances to be
made to execu
tore or adminis-
trators,
Bail-bond.
ORDINANCE No. 6 0F 184.
Supreme Court.
otherwise as Registrar, he shall within fourteen days after receiving any
money belonging
to any estate to the amount of one hundred dollars, clear of all just
allowances and
deductions for commission, pay the same into the bands of the Colonial
Treasurer to
the credit of the said estate, unless the Chief Justice, upon a written
statement of facts,
shall report that it will be more expedient for the said estate to be
otherwise held or
disposed of; and such Treasurer shall receive from the Registrar, as
administrator as
aforesaid under the statute, all such sums of money as he shall tender to
him, and shall
carry the same to the credit of such estates as the said Registrar shall
specify, giving
him at the same time a receipt for the specific sums so paid in; and
whenever the said
,Registrar shall have occasion to draw any sum of money out of the hands
of such
Treasurer, he shall apply by petition to the Court, or to the Chief
Justice at chambers,
for an order for the payment thereof, stating in such petition the
purpose for which
such money is required, and such Treasurer shall not pay over any movies
which
may have been paid into his hands as aforesaid without such order.
[Repealed by
Ordinance No. 8 of 1860.
Power to regn- 2$, And be it further enacted and ordained, that it shall
be lawful for the said
late sittings of
o iodtCourt, a Supreme Court to make and prescribef such rules and orders,
touching the times and
and orders. place of holding the Court, form of process, pleadings, and
other business and proceed-
ings of the said Court, and of the fees payable therein, as to the said
Court shall seem
fit, and such rules and orders from time to time to alter, amend, or
revoke, as occasion
may require.
Arrest
In case elf deb - 24. And be it further enacted and ordained, that if any
person shall have a claim
tore bean abort
to tame t~e or ground of action, of whatever nature, against any other
person who shall be about to
Colony.
ora~`rn«No.s leave the said Colony, and to proceed to parts beyond the
jurisdiction of the said
Of M2.1 Supreme Court, or who may reasonably be suspected of an intention
so to do, either for
the purpose of avoiding process in such action, or otherwise, whereby,
the recovery of
any debt or damages may be delayed, and the party having such claim or
ground of
action as aforesaid, or some person on his behalf, shall produce to the
said Chief Justice
an affidavit of such his right of action, and of the intention of such
other party to leave
the said Colony, and to proceed to parts beyond the jurisdiction of the
acid Court, and
shall also state in such affidavit the grounds upon which he believes
that the other party'
is about to leave the said Colony as aforesaid, in such case it shall be
lawful for the
said Chief Justice, if he shall think fit, to order a writ of capias ad
respondendwm, (in
the form given in the schedule hereunto annexed, marked No. 1.), to be
issued to take
and arrest the body of such other party so about to leave the said
Colony; in which said
writ the amount of the debt or damages demanded, or the value of the
property sought
to be recovered, shall be truly specified, and the costs and charges of
issuing the said.
writ shall be indorsed thereon by the Registrar of the said Court; and of
which said
writ the sheriff, or his lawful deputy, shall, upon any arrest to be made
by virtue
thereof, give to the defendant a true copy : Provided always, that if
upon any such
arrest the defendant shall give to the sheriff reasonable security by
bond or obligation
of the said defendant, and of one or more other person or persons having
sufficient pro-
ORDINANCE No. 6 of 1840.
Supreme Court.
perty within the said Colony, as surety or sureties, that the defendant
shall appear
according to the exigency of the said writ, and shall also stand to,
abide, and perform
the judgment of the said Court thereon, or render himself to the prison
of the said
Court in execution for the same, and that the said defendant shall not,
from and after
the date of such bond or obligation, remove or withdraw any of his
property from and
out of the jurisdiction of the said Court, so as to evade the judgment
thereof, if the
same shall be for the plaintiff (which said bond or obligation shall, as
near as may be,
be in theform given in the schedule hereunto annexed marked No. 2.) ; or
if the defendant
shall pay to the sheriff or his deputy a sufficient sum of money to cover
the amount of
the debt or damages mentioned in the writ, together with the cost and
charges indG2sed,
thereon, and a further sum of five dollars for the charges of making the
arrest, or shall
deliver to the said sheriff or his deputy the property specified in the
said writ, or the
value thereof, either as a deposit, or security in lieu of giving a
bail-bond, or in
satisfaction of the suitor action, then the said sheriff shall permit the
said defendant
to go at large, and free of the said arrest as to such suit or action.
25. And be it further enacted and ordained, that if upon the trial of any
suit or
action in which the defendant shall have been so arrested or held to bail
as aforesaid,
it shall appear to the said Supreme Court that the arrest of the
defendant was vexatious;
and malicious, and without any reasonable or probable cause, and that the
order for
such arrest was obtained upon a wilful misrepresentation of the facts of
the
ease, it shall be lawful for the Chief Justice of the said Court in his
discretion
to order and adjudge the plaintiff in such suit or action to pay to the
defendant the costs
of such arrests or holding to bail, together with such further sum of
money as to the said
Chief Justice shall seem fit, as a reasonable compensation to the said
defendant for
having been so arrested or held to bail; and in default of payment of any
sum of
money so ordered to be paid as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the said
Chief Justice,
and he is hereby authorized, to commit the said plaintiff to the prison
of the said
Court until the same shall be paid. Provided, that in any case in which
compensation
shall have been awarded as aforesaid, it shall not be lawful for the
defendant to
proceed against the plaintiff, by action or otherwise, for the recovery
of any other or
further sum of money by way of damages for such arrest or holding to bail.
26. And be it further enacted and ordained, that it shall and may be
lawful to and
for the said Supreme Court, in all proceedings therein, whether of a
civil or criminal
nature, to order and allow to all persons examined or detained as
witnesses in any such
proceeding, such sum or sums of money as to the said Court shall seem
fit, as well for
defraying the reasonable expenses of such witnesses, as for affording
them a reasonable
compensation for their trouble and loss of time.
2'l. And be it further enacted and ordained, that if any person served
with a
subpcena to attend the said Supreme Court as a witness in any suit or
action therein, or
upon the trial of any indictment or information, shall refuse or neglect
to attend the
said Court pursuant to such subpcena, or if any person shall be guilty of
any contempt
Malicious arrest:
Allowance of
expenses and
compensation
to witnesses.
Paritsliment of
witnesses for
non-attendance;.
and of persons
guilty of & :con-
tempt of Court.
128
ORDINANCE No. 6 of 184.
%preme Court.
before the said Court, it shall be lawful for the said Court to punish
any such person in
a summary way, by fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, or by
imprisonment for
any time not exceeding two calendar months: Provided, that nothing herein
contained
shall affect or abridge the right of any plaintiff or defendant to
proceed against any
party for not appearing pursuant to his subpoena, for the recovery of any
special
damage such plaintiff or defendant may have sustained by reason of the
disobedience
of any such party.
28. And be it further enacted and ordained, that if in any suit or
action, or in any
- pro~eeding connected therewith, it shall appear to the Chief Justice of
the said Supreme
Court, that any person examined as a witness upon oath, or, if a quaker,
on affirm ation,
has committed wilful and corrupt perjury, or that any person, in swearing
or affirming
in any affidavit or affirmation required to be made before the said Chief
Justice, has
been guilty of the like offence, then, and in each and every such case,
it shall and may
be lawful for the said Chief Justice to direct a prosecution for perjury
to be forthwith
instituted against any such person so falsely swearing or affirming as
aforesaid, in
order that he or she may be punished according to law; or where such
perjury is
committed by any person examined as a witness in open Court, it shall be
lawful for
the said Chief Justice, instead of directing such prosecution to be
instituted as
aforesaid, either to commit such witness, as for a contempt of the Court,
to
the prison of the said Court, for any time not exceeding two calendar
months, or to
fine such witness in any sum not exceeding one hundred dollars: Provided,
that the
powers hereinbefore~ given shall be in full force and operation,
notwithstanding any
irregularity or want of form in the administration o£ the oath or
affirmation.
Writ ofo*ror. 29. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the
Governor, in his Executive
Council, shall constitute and be a Court of error and appeal, to whom it
shall be lawful
for any party to appeal by writ of error, or petition, from any decision,
decree, or order
of the said Supreme Court, in all matters of law and equity, where the
matter in dispute
shall amount to the sum of one thousand five hundred dollars, but not
otherwise
Provided, that no such writ of error, or petition, shall be allowed after
the expiration of
fourteen days neat after the decision, decree, or order of the said Court
shall have been
pronounced. Repealed by Ordinance No. 2 of 1846.E
Interpretation 30. And be it further enacted and.ordained, that in the
construction of this
clause. Ordinance wherever in describing any person or party, matter or
thing, the word
importing the singular number or the masculine gender only is used, the
earns shall be
understood to include, and shall be applied to, several persona or
parties as well as one
person or party, and females as well as males, and several matters or
things as well as
one matter or thing, respectively, unless there be something in the
subject or context
repugnant to such construction.
ORDINANCE No. 6 of 1845.
Supreme Court.
SCHEDULE TO WHICH THIS ORDINANCE REFERS.
No. 1.
Writ 3f Capias ad Respondendum.
VICTORIA, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland Queen;
Defender of the Faith, to the Sheriff of the Colony of Hongkong, or his
lawful Deputy,
Greeting:-
We command you that you take C. D. of Street in Victoria, merchant, (or as
the
case may be) if he be found in this Colony, and him safely keep, until he
shall have given you bail, or
made deposit with you according to law, or until the said C. D, shall by
other lawful means be
discharged from your custody, so that he appear before our Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court of our,
said Colony at Victoria within eight days after the execution hereof on
him, inclusive of the day of ~
such execution, then and there to answer A. B. wherefore he hath not ['
paid to the said A. B. the sum
of dollars of good and lawful money current in the said Colony which he
owes to, and
unjustly detains from him,' or « bath not delivered to the said A. B. a
certain boat, together with its
oars, furniture, &c.' or ' other movable thing which the said C. D.
unlawfully detains from the said
A. B.,' or ' hath not satisfied the said A. B. his damages which the said
A. B. bath sustained in respect
of,' &c. (stating any wrong or injury committed by the defendant, as the
case may be) as it is said;]
and in default of such appearance, after having given a bail-bond, the
plaintiff: to be at liberty to
proceed against the sheriff or on the bail-bond; and we do further
command you, that on execution
hereof, you do deliver a copy hereof to the said defendant; and we do
further command you, that
immediately after the execution hereof, you do return this writ to our
said Supreme Court of
Hongkong, together with the manner in which you sball have executed the
same, and the day of the
execution thereof.
Witness The Honorable John Walter Hulme,
Oar Chief Justice of our said Colony at Victoria,
the
in the
G. H. No.
Street, Victoria,
Plaintiff's Attorney
(or if the plainti,ff vie in person)
A. B, of
Plaintiff.
No. 2.
-Foryn of Bail-bond.
KNOW all men by these presents, that we, C. D. of
and L. M. of are held and firmly bound to
sheriff of the Colony of Hongkong in the penal sum of dollars
(double the sum or value of the thing mentioned in the writ) of good and
lawful money current in the
said Colony, to be paid to the said sheriff, or his certain attorney,
executors, administrators, or assigns;
for which payment to be well and faithfully made we bind ourselves, and
each of us for himself, in the
whole, our and every of our heirs, executors, and administrators, firmly
by these presents. 1n witness
whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals this
day of in the Year of our Lord
Welt of capuaa ad
sw
see.
rpolwmu(um.
s~.
day of
Year of our Reign.
8o1-bond to the
sheriff. Bee. E.
The condition of this obligation is such, that if the above bounden C. D.
do appear in person, or by his condition.
attorney, before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of our Lady the
Queen of the Colony of
Hongkong on the
ORDINANCE No. 6 of 1845.
Supreme Court.
dap of to answer A. B. wherefore (following
the statement in the writ of aapiaa ad reapondendum) and also shall stand
to, abide, and perform the
judgment of the said Court thereon, or render himself to the prison of
the said Court in execution thereof,
and shall not remove or withdraw any of his property from ang out of the
jurisdiction of the said Court,
then this obligation to be void, otherwise to remain in full force.
Sigaed sealed and delivered
in the presence of
M. N.
(Repealed by Ordinance No. 12 of 1878, saving existence of Supreme Court
and Officers.I
NOTE.-Reguhe generates mere made under th:ia Ordinance at the times and
rlatea following viz. :-
In' .Easter Tarm 1845.
Michaelmas Torm 1st November, 1845.
B'Mr Term let March, 1847.
Hilary Term let fanvary, 1848.
Easter Term let March, 1848.
Easter Term Tat March, 1849,
Dliohaelmaa Term 31st October, 1854. (See Gazette 4th .November, T854.)
3fia7taelma8 Term 14th, ryovember, 1859. (.Sea Gazette. 26th, November,
1859.)
of the X3tlt April, 1870. (Sac Gazette of the 16th. of the same month.)
if the 23rd February, 1871. (.See GTazettetf the 25th of the same month.)
120
Title.
Preamble.
Ordinance No. 15 of 1844 repealed.
Former Court at Hongkong abolished.
A Supreme Court of Record t be instituted therein.
How far the law of English to prevail.
Constitution of Court.
Seal of the Court.
Judges to hold no other office of profit.
Officers of the Court.
Officers how to hold office.
Admission of barristers and attornies.
Fit persons to be admitted to practise for three months in case of necessity.
Sheriff of Hongkong to execute writs and process.
Process against sheriff.
Jurisdiction of Court.
Legal.
Equitable.
Ecclesiastical.
Court to reserve power of revocation.
Court to grant letters of administration to next of kin,
or to the Regostrar.
Administrator to enter into bond.
Condition of bond.
How bond to be put in suit.
Court to fix periods at which accounts shall be passed.
Allowances to be made to executors or administrators.
Payment of money into Treasury.
39 & 40 Geo.3, c. 79. s.21.
Power to regulate sittings of the Court, and to make rules and orders.
Arrest allowed in case of debtors being about to leave the Colony. [Amended by Ordinance No. 5 of 1852.]
Bail-bond.
Malicious arrest.
Allowance of expenses and compensation to witnesses.
Punishment of witnesses for non-attendance, and of persons guilty of a contempt of Court.
Perjury.
Writ of error.
Interpretation clause.
Writ of capias ad respondendum Sec. 24.
Bail-bond to the sheriff. Sec.24.
Condition.
An Ordinance to repeal Ordinance No. 15 of 1844, for the Establishment
of a Supreme Court of Judicature at Hongkong, and to substitute
other provisions in lieu thereof.
[19th August, 1845.]
WHEREAS it is expedient that the matters embraced in Ordinance No. 15
relating to the establishment of .the Supreme Court of Hongkong, trial by,
jury, criminal proceedings, and the summary jurisdiction of the Court,
should be pro-
vided for by separate and distinct ordinances; Be it therefore enacted
and ordained
by His Excellency the Governor of Hongkong, by and with the advice of the
Legislative
Council thereof, that the said Ordinance No. 15 shall, from and after the
passing of
'this Ordinance, be, and the same is hereby repealed.
Former court 2. And be it further enacted and ordained, that from and
after the passing of ng
abolished. this Ordinance, the Court at Hongkong with criminal arid
admiralty jurisdiction, which
has hitherto been holden by the Chief Superintendent, shall be, and it is
hereby
abolished.
A Supreme Court 8. And be it further enacted and ordained, that there
shall be within and for the
i ettuted to be Colony of Hongkong a Court, which shall be called 'The
Supreme Court of Hongkong,''
therein.
and that the said Supreme Court of Hongkong shall be a Court of Retard.
ORDINANCE No. G of 184.
Supreme Court.
4. And be it farther enacted and ordained, that the law of England shall
be in a°.
full force in the said Colony of Hongkong, except where the same shall be
inapplicable ~,r ~~,fi~°dt°
to the local circumstances of the s''aid Colony, or of its inhabitants;
and that in all
matters relating to the practice and proceedings of the said Supreme
Court, the practice
of the English Courts shall be in force, unless and until otherwise
ordered by rule of
the said Court.
5. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supremo Court of
Hong- Constitution of
kong shall consist of, and be holden by, and before, a Judge to be called
the Chief Court.
Justice of the Supreme Court of Hongkong and its dependencies, and to be
appointed
by Letters Patent under the public seal of the Colony from time to time
by the
Governor of Hongkong, in accordance with such instructions as ho may
receive from
Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors; and such Chief Justice shall hold
his office
during the pleasure of Her said Majesty, subject to suspension by the
governor in like
manner as other officers in the said Colony: Provided that in case the
said office of
Chief Justice shall become vacant by death or otherwise, it shall be
lawful for the
Governor to appoint another fit and proper person to fill the said office
of Chief Justice,
until Her said Majesty's pleasure be known ; or in case of the temporary
illness or
absence of the Chief Justice, it shad be lawful for the Governor to
appoint another fit
and proper person to fill the said office of Chief .Justice until the
Chief Justice shall
resume the duties of his said office.
6. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supreme Court
shall have Seal of the Cottet.
and.nse, as occasion may require, a seal, bearing a device and impression
of the Royal
Arena; within an exergue or label surrounding the same, with this
inscription, '1 The
Seal of the Supreme Court of Hongkong,' and all writs and other process
issuing out
of the said Court shall be sealed therewith.
7. And be it further enacted and ordained, that no Judge of the said
Supreme Judges to hold
Court shall be capable of accepting, taktaking, or an other office or lace
of no other office
g~ performing, y P n
profit or emolument, on pain that the acceptance of any such other office
or place as
aforesaid, shall be and be deemed in law de facto an avoidance of his
office of Judge,
and the salary thereof shall cease, and be :doeriied to have ceased
accordingly, from the
time of such acceptance of any such other o1fiee or place. x
$. And be it further enacted and ordained, that there shall be and belong
to the Officers of the
said Supreme Court the following officers, that is to say, a Registrar, a
clerk, and an Court.
interpreter thereof, and such, and so many other officers, as to the
Governor, or Acting
Governor for the time being, of the said Colony, shall from time to time
appear to be
necessary for the administration of Justice, .and the due execution of
all the powers
and authorities which are granted and committed to the said Court by this
Ordinance.
9. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the several superior
officers of the
said Court, who now are, or hereafter may be appointed to their said
offices by Her
Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, shall hold their several offices
during the pleasure
of Her said Majesty, subject to suspension by the Governor, in like
manner: as other
Officers how to
hold office.
Admission of
barristers and
attorafes.
ORDINANCE No. 6 of 1845.
Supreme Court.
officers in the said Colony; and that all other officers, shall be
removable from their
several offices in the said Court by the Governor, or Acting Governor for
the time
being, upon reasonable cause.
10. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supreme Court
is hereby
authorized and empowered to approve, admit, and enrol such persons as
shall have
been admitted barristers or advocates in Great Britain or Ireland, to
practise as bar.
ristera; and such persona as shall have been admitted as solicitors,
attornies, or writers
in one of the Courts at Westminster, Dublin, or Edinburgh, or as proctors
in any
,.Ecclesiastical Court in England, or who shall have served for a period
of three years as
an articled clerk to any solicitor, attorney, or proctor, actually
practising as such within
the Colony of Hongkong, or shall have been admitted as solicitors,
attorniea, or proc-
tors,~in any other of Her Majesty's British colonies, to practise as
solicitors, attornies,
and proctors in the said Court; subject nevertheless to be removed and
struck off from
the rolls of the said Court, upon reasonable cause. [Repealed by
Ordinance No. 3 of
1871.]
Fit persons to
be admitted to 11. Provided always, and be it further enacted and
ordained, that in case there
practise for shall not be a sufficient number of barristers, solicitors,
attornies, and proctors within
three months in
case ornacaeatty. the said Colony, competent and willing to appear and.
act for the suitors of the said
Supreme Court, it shall be lawful for the said Court, and the said Court
is hereby
authorized, to admit temporarily so many other fit and proper persons to
appear and
act as barristers, solicitors, attbrniea, and proctors, as may be
necessary, according to
such rules and regulations as the said Court shall, for that purpose,
make and establish:
Provided that the persona so admitted shall be admitted for a period of
three months
only, and shah not be readmitted without obvious necessity.
Sheriff of Hong-
koag to eaeente
write and pro=
case'.
12. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the sheriff of Hongkong
for the
time being shall, by himself ox his sufficient deputy, (to be by him
appointed, and
duly authorized under his hand and seal, and for whom he shall be
responsible during
his continuing in such office,) execute, and the said sheriff and his
said deputy is and
are hereby authorized to execute all writs, 'summonses, rules, orders,
warrants, com.
mands, and processes of the said Supreme Court, (other than such as shall
be issued
under the aurizmary jurisdiction of the said Court, as hereinafter
provided by Ordinance
No. 6 of 185,) and make a return of the same, together with the manner of
the execu-
tion thereof, to the skid Court, and to receive and detain in prison all
such persons as
shall be committed to the custody of such sheriff by the said Court.
[Repealed by Or.
d%nanca No. l of 1873. ]
13. And be it further enacted and ordained, that whenever the said Supreme
Court shall direct ox award any process against the said sheriff, or
award any process in
any cause, matter, or thing wherein the said sheriff, on account of his
being related to
the parties, or any of them, or by reason of any good cause of challenge
which would
be allowed against any sheriff in England, cannot or ought rift by law to
execute the
game, in every such case the said Court shall name and appoint some other
fit person
Process against
sheriff.
ORDINANCE \To. 6 of 184.
O'upreme Court.
to execute and return the same, and the said process shall be directed to
the person so
to be named for that purpose, and the cause of such special proceedings
shall be sug.
gested and entered on the records ,.-of the said Court. [Repealed b8
Ordinance No. 1 of
1873.
14. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supreme Court
shall Jurisdiction of
have the same jurisdiction in the said Colony of Hongkong and its
dependencies, as
Her Majesty's Courts of Queen's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer,
lawfully have tegai.
in England; and shall be a Court of Oyer and Terminer and Gaol delivery,
Assize, and
Nisi Prius.
16. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supreme Court
shall be
a Court of Equity, with such and the like jurisdiction as the Court of
Chancery in
England; and shall have and execute all and singular'the powers and
authorities of
the Lord High Chancellor of England, with full liberty to appoint and
control guar-
dians of infants, and their estates, and also keepers of the persona and
estates of
idiots, lunatics, and such as being of unsound mind, are unable to govern
themselves
and their estates.
16. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supreme Court
shall Eeclesisacica.
be a Court of Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, with full power to grant
probates, under the
seal of the said Court, of the last wills and testaments of all or any of
the inhabitants
of the said Colony and. its dependencies, and all other persons who shall
die, and leave
'personal effects within the said Colony and its dependencies; and to
commit letters of
administration, under the seal of the said Court, of the goods, chattels,
credits, and all
other effects whatsoever of the persons aforesaid, who shall die
intestate, or who
having left a will, shall not have named an executor resident within the
said Colony or
its dependencies; or where an executor, resident as aforesaid, being duly
cited, shall not.
appear and sue forth such probate: annexing the will to the letters of
administration,
when such persons shall have left a will without naming an executor, or
where an
executor shall have been named not resident within the said Colony, or
where an
executor shall have been named resident within the said Colony or its
dependencies, but
who, being duly, cited thereunto, shall not appear and sue forth a
probate thereof: and to,
sequester the goods and chattels, credits, and other effects whatsoever
of such persons
so dying, in cases allowed by law, as the same is and maybe now used in
the diocese
of London: and to demand, require, take, hear, examine, and allow, and,
if occasion
require, to, disallow and reject the account of them, in such manner and
form as may be
used in the said diocese and to do all other things whatsoever needful
and necessary in
that behalf. [Repeated by Ordinances No. 5 of 1858 and No. 8 of 1860.]
1'7. Provided always, and be it further enacted and ordained, that the
said Courcta xeeerde
Supreme Court is hereby authorized and required, where letters of
administration shall =.ofrevn~.
be committed with the will annexed for want of an executor applying in
due time to
sue forth the probate, ko reserve in such letters of administration full
power and.
authority to revoke the same, and to grant probate of the said will to
such executor?
Court.
Equitable.
Oonrtto grant
letters of admi-
nistration to
nest of kin,
Administrator
to eater into.
bond.
ORDINANCE No. 6 of 1845.
Supreme Court.
whenever he shall duly appear and sue forth the same. [Repealed by
Ordinances No. 5
of 1858 cued No. 8 of 1860.E
1$. And~be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supreme Court
shall
grant and commit letters of administration to any one or more of the
lawful next of
kin of persons so dying as aforesaid, being then resident within the
jurisdiction of the
said Court, and being of the age of twenty-one years; and in ease no such
person shall
then be residing within the jurisdiction o the said Court, or, being
duly cited, shall
or totnexa. not appear and pray the same, to the Registrar of the said
Court, or to such person or.
gietrar.
persona, whether creditor or creditors, or not, of the deceased person,
as the Court
'shad see fit: Provided always, that probates of wills, and letters of
administration to
be granted by the said Court, shall be limited to such money, goods,
chattels, credits,
and effects as the deceased person at the time of his or her death shall
have been
entitled to within the said Colony of Hongkong and its dependencies.
[Repealed by
Ordinances No. 5 of 1858 and No. 8 of 18fi0.j
1(); And be it further enacted and ordained, that every person to whom
letters of
administration shall be committed shall, before the granting thereof,
give sufficient
security, by bond to be entered into to Her Majesty, Her Heirs and
Successors, for the
payment of a certain sum of money, with one, two, or more sureties,
respect being had
to the valve of the estates, credits, and effects of the deceased; which
bond shall be
deposited in the said Court among the records thereof, and there safely
kept, and a
copy thereof shall be also recorded among the proceedings of the said
Court; and the r
Condition of condition of the said band shall be to the following
effect,-' that if the above bounden
bond.
'adminiatra'tor o the goods, chattels, and effects of the deceased, do
make, or cause to
'be made, a true and perfect inventory of all and singular the goods,
credits, and
'effects of the said deceased, which have or shall come to the hands,
possession, or
`° knowledge of him the said administrator, or to the hands or possession
of any other
`° person or persons for him, and the same so made do exhibit into the
Supreme Court
'of Hongkong, at or before a day therein to be specified; and the same
goods, chattels,
`° credits, and effects, and all other the goods, chattels, credits, and
effects of the
`° deceased at the time of his death; or which at any time afterwards
shall come to,
`° the hands or possession of such administrator, or to the hands or
possession of any
!° other person or persons for him, shall well and truly administer
according to law;
'and further shall make, or cause to be made, a true and just account of
his said°
'administration,'at or before a time therein to be specified, and
afterwards from time
`` to time as he, she, or they shall be lawfully required; and all the
rent and residue of
`the said goods, chattels, credits, and effects which shall be found from
time to time
'remaining upon the said administration account, the same being first
examined and.
`o allowed by the said Court, shall and do pay and dispose of in a due
course of
`° administration, or in such manner as the said Court shall direct, then
this obligation
How bond to be « to be void and of none effect or else to be aid remain in
full force and virtue.' And
put in suit.
in ease it shall be -necessary to put the said bond in suit, for ,the
sake of obtaining the
effect thereof for the benefit of such person or persons as shall appear
to the said Coa#
.
ORDINANCE NO. 6 of 1$45.
Supreme Court.
to be interested therein, such person or persons from time to time giving
satisfactory
security for paying all such costs as shall arise from the said suit,
such person or persons
shall, by order of the said Court;, be allowed to sue the same in the
name of the
Attorney General for the time being of the said Colony, and the said bond
shall not be
sued in any other manner. Repealed by Ordinances No. 5 of 1858 and No. 8
of 1860.
20: And be it further enacted and ordained, that the said Supreme Court
shall
fix certain periods when all persons to whom probates of wills and
letters of administra-
tion shall be granted by the said Court shall from time to time, until
the effects of the
deceased persons shall be fully administered, pass their accounts
relating thereto before
the said Court; and in case the effects of the deceased shall not be
fully administered
within the time for that purpose to be fixed by the said Court, then, or
at any earlier
time, if the said Court shall see fit so to direct, the person or persons
to whom such
probate or administration shall be granted shall pay, deposit, and
dispose of the balance
of money belonging to the estate of the deceased then in his, her, or
their hands, and
all money which shall afterwards come into his, her, or their hands, and
also all precious
stones, jewels, bonds, bills, and securities belonging to the estate of
the deceased, in
such manner, and unto such persons, as the said Court shall direct for
safe custody;
and the said Court shall from time to time make such order as shall be
just for the due
administration of such assets, and for the payment or remittance thereof,
or any part
thereof, as occasion shall require, to or for the use of any person or
persons, whether
resident or non-resident in the said Colony and its dependencies, who may
be entitled
thereto, or any part thereof, as creditors, legatees, or next of kin, or
by any other right
or title whatsoever. [Repealed by Ordinances No. 5 of 1858 and No. 8 of
1860.]
21. And be it further enacted and ordained, that it shall and may be
lawful for
the said Supreme Court, to allow to any executor or administrator of the
effects of any
deceased person (except as herein mentioned) such commission or
percentage out of
their assets as shall be just and reasonable for their pains and trouble
therein: Provided
always, that no allowance whatever shall be made for the pains and
trouble of any
executor or administrator who shall neglect to pass his accounts at such
time, or to
dispose of any money, goods, chattels or securities with which he shall
be chargeable in
such manner, as in pursuance of any general of special rule or order of
the said Court,
shall be requisite; and moreover every such executor or administrator so
neglecting to
pass his accounts, or to dispose of any such money, goods, chattels, or
securities, with
which he shall be chargeable, shall be charged with interest at the rate
then current within
the said Colony and its dependencies, for such sum and sums of money, as
from time
to time shall have been in his hands, whether he shall or shall not make
interest thereof.
(Repealed by Ordinance No. 8 of 1860.]
22. And be it further enacted and ordained: that where letters of
administration, payment of
moneyinto
or 11 ad colligenda bona' have been granted to the Registrar under an Act
of Parliament' Treasury.
passed at a session holden in the 39th and 40th years of the reign of
King George the
Third, iatituled An Act for establighing further Regulations for the
Governhtent of the s9 & 40 Goo. 3, o.
79. s. 21.
British Territories in India, and the better administration of Justice
within the same, or
Court to fix
periods at which
accounts shall
he passed.
Allowances to be
made to execu
tore or adminis-
trators,
Bail-bond.
ORDINANCE No. 6 0F 184.
Supreme Court.
otherwise as Registrar, he shall within fourteen days after receiving any
money belonging
to any estate to the amount of one hundred dollars, clear of all just
allowances and
deductions for commission, pay the same into the bands of the Colonial
Treasurer to
the credit of the said estate, unless the Chief Justice, upon a written
statement of facts,
shall report that it will be more expedient for the said estate to be
otherwise held or
disposed of; and such Treasurer shall receive from the Registrar, as
administrator as
aforesaid under the statute, all such sums of money as he shall tender to
him, and shall
carry the same to the credit of such estates as the said Registrar shall
specify, giving
him at the same time a receipt for the specific sums so paid in; and
whenever the said
,Registrar shall have occasion to draw any sum of money out of the hands
of such
Treasurer, he shall apply by petition to the Court, or to the Chief
Justice at chambers,
for an order for the payment thereof, stating in such petition the
purpose for which
such money is required, and such Treasurer shall not pay over any movies
which
may have been paid into his hands as aforesaid without such order.
[Repealed by
Ordinance No. 8 of 1860.
Power to regn- 2$, And be it further enacted and ordained, that it shall
be lawful for the said
late sittings of
o iodtCourt, a Supreme Court to make and prescribef such rules and orders,
touching the times and
and orders. place of holding the Court, form of process, pleadings, and
other business and proceed-
ings of the said Court, and of the fees payable therein, as to the said
Court shall seem
fit, and such rules and orders from time to time to alter, amend, or
revoke, as occasion
may require.
Arrest
In case elf deb - 24. And be it further enacted and ordained, that if any
person shall have a claim
tore bean abort
to tame t~e or ground of action, of whatever nature, against any other
person who shall be about to
Colony.
ora~`rn«No.s leave the said Colony, and to proceed to parts beyond the
jurisdiction of the said
Of M2.1 Supreme Court, or who may reasonably be suspected of an intention
so to do, either for
the purpose of avoiding process in such action, or otherwise, whereby,
the recovery of
any debt or damages may be delayed, and the party having such claim or
ground of
action as aforesaid, or some person on his behalf, shall produce to the
said Chief Justice
an affidavit of such his right of action, and of the intention of such
other party to leave
the said Colony, and to proceed to parts beyond the jurisdiction of the
acid Court, and
shall also state in such affidavit the grounds upon which he believes
that the other party'
is about to leave the said Colony as aforesaid, in such case it shall be
lawful for the
said Chief Justice, if he shall think fit, to order a writ of capias ad
respondendwm, (in
the form given in the schedule hereunto annexed, marked No. 1.), to be
issued to take
and arrest the body of such other party so about to leave the said
Colony; in which said
writ the amount of the debt or damages demanded, or the value of the
property sought
to be recovered, shall be truly specified, and the costs and charges of
issuing the said.
writ shall be indorsed thereon by the Registrar of the said Court; and of
which said
writ the sheriff, or his lawful deputy, shall, upon any arrest to be made
by virtue
thereof, give to the defendant a true copy : Provided always, that if
upon any such
arrest the defendant shall give to the sheriff reasonable security by
bond or obligation
of the said defendant, and of one or more other person or persons having
sufficient pro-
ORDINANCE No. 6 of 1840.
Supreme Court.
perty within the said Colony, as surety or sureties, that the defendant
shall appear
according to the exigency of the said writ, and shall also stand to,
abide, and perform
the judgment of the said Court thereon, or render himself to the prison
of the said
Court in execution for the same, and that the said defendant shall not,
from and after
the date of such bond or obligation, remove or withdraw any of his
property from and
out of the jurisdiction of the said Court, so as to evade the judgment
thereof, if the
same shall be for the plaintiff (which said bond or obligation shall, as
near as may be,
be in theform given in the schedule hereunto annexed marked No. 2.) ; or
if the defendant
shall pay to the sheriff or his deputy a sufficient sum of money to cover
the amount of
the debt or damages mentioned in the writ, together with the cost and
charges indG2sed,
thereon, and a further sum of five dollars for the charges of making the
arrest, or shall
deliver to the said sheriff or his deputy the property specified in the
said writ, or the
value thereof, either as a deposit, or security in lieu of giving a
bail-bond, or in
satisfaction of the suitor action, then the said sheriff shall permit the
said defendant
to go at large, and free of the said arrest as to such suit or action.
25. And be it further enacted and ordained, that if upon the trial of any
suit or
action in which the defendant shall have been so arrested or held to bail
as aforesaid,
it shall appear to the said Supreme Court that the arrest of the
defendant was vexatious;
and malicious, and without any reasonable or probable cause, and that the
order for
such arrest was obtained upon a wilful misrepresentation of the facts of
the
ease, it shall be lawful for the Chief Justice of the said Court in his
discretion
to order and adjudge the plaintiff in such suit or action to pay to the
defendant the costs
of such arrests or holding to bail, together with such further sum of
money as to the said
Chief Justice shall seem fit, as a reasonable compensation to the said
defendant for
having been so arrested or held to bail; and in default of payment of any
sum of
money so ordered to be paid as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the said
Chief Justice,
and he is hereby authorized, to commit the said plaintiff to the prison
of the said
Court until the same shall be paid. Provided, that in any case in which
compensation
shall have been awarded as aforesaid, it shall not be lawful for the
defendant to
proceed against the plaintiff, by action or otherwise, for the recovery
of any other or
further sum of money by way of damages for such arrest or holding to bail.
26. And be it further enacted and ordained, that it shall and may be
lawful to and
for the said Supreme Court, in all proceedings therein, whether of a
civil or criminal
nature, to order and allow to all persons examined or detained as
witnesses in any such
proceeding, such sum or sums of money as to the said Court shall seem
fit, as well for
defraying the reasonable expenses of such witnesses, as for affording
them a reasonable
compensation for their trouble and loss of time.
2'l. And be it further enacted and ordained, that if any person served
with a
subpcena to attend the said Supreme Court as a witness in any suit or
action therein, or
upon the trial of any indictment or information, shall refuse or neglect
to attend the
said Court pursuant to such subpcena, or if any person shall be guilty of
any contempt
Malicious arrest:
Allowance of
expenses and
compensation
to witnesses.
Paritsliment of
witnesses for
non-attendance;.
and of persons
guilty of & :con-
tempt of Court.
128
ORDINANCE No. 6 of 184.
%preme Court.
before the said Court, it shall be lawful for the said Court to punish
any such person in
a summary way, by fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, or by
imprisonment for
any time not exceeding two calendar months: Provided, that nothing herein
contained
shall affect or abridge the right of any plaintiff or defendant to
proceed against any
party for not appearing pursuant to his subpoena, for the recovery of any
special
damage such plaintiff or defendant may have sustained by reason of the
disobedience
of any such party.
28. And be it further enacted and ordained, that if in any suit or
action, or in any
- pro~eeding connected therewith, it shall appear to the Chief Justice of
the said Supreme
Court, that any person examined as a witness upon oath, or, if a quaker,
on affirm ation,
has committed wilful and corrupt perjury, or that any person, in swearing
or affirming
in any affidavit or affirmation required to be made before the said Chief
Justice, has
been guilty of the like offence, then, and in each and every such case,
it shall and may
be lawful for the said Chief Justice to direct a prosecution for perjury
to be forthwith
instituted against any such person so falsely swearing or affirming as
aforesaid, in
order that he or she may be punished according to law; or where such
perjury is
committed by any person examined as a witness in open Court, it shall be
lawful for
the said Chief Justice, instead of directing such prosecution to be
instituted as
aforesaid, either to commit such witness, as for a contempt of the Court,
to
the prison of the said Court, for any time not exceeding two calendar
months, or to
fine such witness in any sum not exceeding one hundred dollars: Provided,
that the
powers hereinbefore~ given shall be in full force and operation,
notwithstanding any
irregularity or want of form in the administration o£ the oath or
affirmation.
Writ ofo*ror. 29. And be it further enacted and ordained, that the
Governor, in his Executive
Council, shall constitute and be a Court of error and appeal, to whom it
shall be lawful
for any party to appeal by writ of error, or petition, from any decision,
decree, or order
of the said Supreme Court, in all matters of law and equity, where the
matter in dispute
shall amount to the sum of one thousand five hundred dollars, but not
otherwise
Provided, that no such writ of error, or petition, shall be allowed after
the expiration of
fourteen days neat after the decision, decree, or order of the said Court
shall have been
pronounced. Repealed by Ordinance No. 2 of 1846.E
Interpretation 30. And be it further enacted and.ordained, that in the
construction of this
clause. Ordinance wherever in describing any person or party, matter or
thing, the word
importing the singular number or the masculine gender only is used, the
earns shall be
understood to include, and shall be applied to, several persona or
parties as well as one
person or party, and females as well as males, and several matters or
things as well as
one matter or thing, respectively, unless there be something in the
subject or context
repugnant to such construction.
ORDINANCE No. 6 of 1845.
Supreme Court.
SCHEDULE TO WHICH THIS ORDINANCE REFERS.
No. 1.
Writ 3f Capias ad Respondendum.
VICTORIA, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland Queen;
Defender of the Faith, to the Sheriff of the Colony of Hongkong, or his
lawful Deputy,
Greeting:-
We command you that you take C. D. of Street in Victoria, merchant, (or as
the
case may be) if he be found in this Colony, and him safely keep, until he
shall have given you bail, or
made deposit with you according to law, or until the said C. D, shall by
other lawful means be
discharged from your custody, so that he appear before our Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court of our,
said Colony at Victoria within eight days after the execution hereof on
him, inclusive of the day of ~
such execution, then and there to answer A. B. wherefore he hath not ['
paid to the said A. B. the sum
of dollars of good and lawful money current in the said Colony which he
owes to, and
unjustly detains from him,' or « bath not delivered to the said A. B. a
certain boat, together with its
oars, furniture, &c.' or ' other movable thing which the said C. D.
unlawfully detains from the said
A. B.,' or ' hath not satisfied the said A. B. his damages which the said
A. B. bath sustained in respect
of,' &c. (stating any wrong or injury committed by the defendant, as the
case may be) as it is said;]
and in default of such appearance, after having given a bail-bond, the
plaintiff: to be at liberty to
proceed against the sheriff or on the bail-bond; and we do further
command you, that on execution
hereof, you do deliver a copy hereof to the said defendant; and we do
further command you, that
immediately after the execution hereof, you do return this writ to our
said Supreme Court of
Hongkong, together with the manner in which you sball have executed the
same, and the day of the
execution thereof.
Witness The Honorable John Walter Hulme,
Oar Chief Justice of our said Colony at Victoria,
the
in the
G. H. No.
Street, Victoria,
Plaintiff's Attorney
(or if the plainti,ff vie in person)
A. B, of
Plaintiff.
No. 2.
-Foryn of Bail-bond.
KNOW all men by these presents, that we, C. D. of
and L. M. of are held and firmly bound to
sheriff of the Colony of Hongkong in the penal sum of dollars
(double the sum or value of the thing mentioned in the writ) of good and
lawful money current in the
said Colony, to be paid to the said sheriff, or his certain attorney,
executors, administrators, or assigns;
for which payment to be well and faithfully made we bind ourselves, and
each of us for himself, in the
whole, our and every of our heirs, executors, and administrators, firmly
by these presents. 1n witness
whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals this
day of in the Year of our Lord
Welt of capuaa ad
sw
see.
rpolwmu(um.
s~.
day of
Year of our Reign.
8o1-bond to the
sheriff. Bee. E.
The condition of this obligation is such, that if the above bounden C. D.
do appear in person, or by his condition.
attorney, before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of our Lady the
Queen of the Colony of
Hongkong on the
ORDINANCE No. 6 of 1845.
Supreme Court.
dap of to answer A. B. wherefore (following
the statement in the writ of aapiaa ad reapondendum) and also shall stand
to, abide, and perform the
judgment of the said Court thereon, or render himself to the prison of
the said Court in execution thereof,
and shall not remove or withdraw any of his property from ang out of the
jurisdiction of the said Court,
then this obligation to be void, otherwise to remain in full force.
Sigaed sealed and delivered
in the presence of
M. N.
(Repealed by Ordinance No. 12 of 1878, saving existence of Supreme Court
and Officers.I
NOTE.-Reguhe generates mere made under th:ia Ordinance at the times and
rlatea following viz. :-
In' .Easter Tarm 1845.
Michaelmas Torm 1st November, 1845.
B'Mr Term let March, 1847.
Hilary Term let fanvary, 1848.
Easter Term let March, 1848.
Easter Term Tat March, 1849,
Dliohaelmaa Term 31st October, 1854. (See Gazette 4th .November, T854.)
3fia7taelma8 Term 14th, ryovember, 1859. (.Sea Gazette. 26th, November,
1859.)
of the X3tlt April, 1870. (Sac Gazette of the 16th. of the same month.)
if the 23rd February, 1871. (.See GTazettetf the 25th of the same month.)
120
Title.
Preamble.
Ordinance No. 15 of 1844 repealed.
Former Court at Hongkong abolished.
A Supreme Court of Record t be instituted therein.
How far the law of English to prevail.
Constitution of Court.
Seal of the Court.
Judges to hold no other office of profit.
Officers of the Court.
Officers how to hold office.
Admission of barristers and attornies.
Fit persons to be admitted to practise for three months in case of necessity.
Sheriff of Hongkong to execute writs and process.
Process against sheriff.
Jurisdiction of Court.
Legal.
Equitable.
Ecclesiastical.
Court to reserve power of revocation.
Court to grant letters of administration to next of kin,
or to the Regostrar.
Administrator to enter into bond.
Condition of bond.
How bond to be put in suit.
Court to fix periods at which accounts shall be passed.
Allowances to be made to executors or administrators.
Payment of money into Treasury.
39 & 40 Geo.3, c. 79. s.21.
Power to regulate sittings of the Court, and to make rules and orders.
Arrest allowed in case of debtors being about to leave the Colony. [Amended by Ordinance No. 5 of 1852.]
Bail-bond.
Malicious arrest.
Allowance of expenses and compensation to witnesses.
Punishment of witnesses for non-attendance, and of persons guilty of a contempt of Court.
Perjury.
Writ of error.
Interpretation clause.
Writ of capias ad respondendum Sec. 24.
Bail-bond to the sheriff. Sec.24.
Condition.
Abstract
120
Title.
Preamble.
Ordinance No. 15 of 1844 repealed.
Former Court at Hongkong abolished.
A Supreme Court of Record t be instituted therein.
How far the law of English to prevail.
Constitution of Court.
Seal of the Court.
Judges to hold no other office of profit.
Officers of the Court.
Officers how to hold office.
Admission of barristers and attornies.
Fit persons to be admitted to practise for three months in case of necessity.
Sheriff of Hongkong to execute writs and process.
Process against sheriff.
Jurisdiction of Court.
Legal.
Equitable.
Ecclesiastical.
Court to reserve power of revocation.
Court to grant letters of administration to next of kin,
or to the Regostrar.
Administrator to enter into bond.
Condition of bond.
How bond to be put in suit.
Court to fix periods at which accounts shall be passed.
Allowances to be made to executors or administrators.
Payment of money into Treasury.
39 & 40 Geo.3, c. 79. s.21.
Power to regulate sittings of the Court, and to make rules and orders.
Arrest allowed in case of debtors being about to leave the Colony. [Amended by Ordinance No. 5 of 1852.]
Bail-bond.
Malicious arrest.
Allowance of expenses and compensation to witnesses.
Punishment of witnesses for non-attendance, and of persons guilty of a contempt of Court.
Perjury.
Writ of error.
Interpretation clause.
Writ of capias ad respondendum Sec. 24.
Bail-bond to the sheriff. Sec.24.
Condition.
Title.
Preamble.
Ordinance No. 15 of 1844 repealed.
Former Court at Hongkong abolished.
A Supreme Court of Record t be instituted therein.
How far the law of English to prevail.
Constitution of Court.
Seal of the Court.
Judges to hold no other office of profit.
Officers of the Court.
Officers how to hold office.
Admission of barristers and attornies.
Fit persons to be admitted to practise for three months in case of necessity.
Sheriff of Hongkong to execute writs and process.
Process against sheriff.
Jurisdiction of Court.
Legal.
Equitable.
Ecclesiastical.
Court to reserve power of revocation.
Court to grant letters of administration to next of kin,
or to the Regostrar.
Administrator to enter into bond.
Condition of bond.
How bond to be put in suit.
Court to fix periods at which accounts shall be passed.
Allowances to be made to executors or administrators.
Payment of money into Treasury.
39 & 40 Geo.3, c. 79. s.21.
Power to regulate sittings of the Court, and to make rules and orders.
Arrest allowed in case of debtors being about to leave the Colony. [Amended by Ordinance No. 5 of 1852.]
Bail-bond.
Malicious arrest.
Allowance of expenses and compensation to witnesses.
Punishment of witnesses for non-attendance, and of persons guilty of a contempt of Court.
Perjury.
Writ of error.
Interpretation clause.
Writ of capias ad respondendum Sec. 24.
Bail-bond to the sheriff. Sec.24.
Condition.
Identifier
https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/32
Edition
1890
Volume
v1
Cap / Ordinance No.
No. 6 of 1845
Number of Pages
11
Files
Collection
Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online
Citation
“SUPREME COURT ORDINANCE,” Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online, accessed November 9, 2024, https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/32.
