New Book: Personal Injury Tables Hong Kong 2019: Tables for the Calculation of Damages, 5th edn ("Chan Tables")

Personal Injury Tables Hong Kong 2019: Tables for the Calculation of Damages, 5th edn

Neville Sarony, Wai-sum Chan, Felix W H Chan, Johnny S H Li

Sweet and Maxwell,
April 2019

Description: Continually cited in Hong Kong Courts as the “Chan Tables”, they are the authoritative and court-approved tables and provide the definitive starting point for all calculations for personal injury compensation claims in Hong Kong.

“I agree that the Chan Tables should be accepted as the starting point in Hong Kong…” 

  Justice Bharwaney, Chan Pak Ting (No.1) [2012] 1 HKCFI 1584; [2013] 1 HKLRD 643

Personal Injury Tables Hong Kong 2019 updates and revises the essential reference information for calculating damages in personal injury and fatal accident cases. The 2019 edition has been fully updated to take into account revised Hong Kong mortality projections by the Census and Statistics Department (Hong Kong Life Tables 2018-2066 and Hong Kong Population Projections 2017–2066), under which there is an increase in life expectancy. 

     Evaluating damages is no longer a time-consuming and challenging task. Its comprehensive contents include Hong Kong actuarial tables for the calculation of: 

• Inflationary rates for adjusting PSLA
• Wage statistics
• Retail price indices

“The quantification of damages in personal injury cases is not an exact science. Indeed Lord Bridge observed that it will never be so, and explained how the common law courts have been “traditionally mistrustful of reliance on actuarial tables”: Hunt v Severs [1994] 2 AC 350, 365. Lord Pearson placed more trust in the experience of practitioners and judges than relying on tables, as otherwise there would be “a false appearance of accuracy and precision in a sphere where conjectural estimates have to play a large part”: Taylor v O ‘Connor [1971] AC 115, 140. 

These days of judicial skepticism against mathematics and actuarial science are bygone.  It is now clear that our very own Chan Tables, much like the Ogden Tables in England, have become an indispensable part and the starting point of our law in this area (Chan Pak Ting v Chan Chi Kuen [2013] 1 HKLRD 634, [32]), and rightly so. As required by modern standards of civil justice, Hong Kong law now demands greater consistency, predictability, and efficiency in all types of cases. This need is particularly felt in personal injuries cases by reason of their very nature. Tables like the present publication assist greatly in achieving this goal. 

It is noteworthy that the Law Reform Commission’s recent consultation on periodical payments for future pecuniary loss could ultimately lead to some interesting changes in this area of law, and, perhaps, the role and the complexity of the future editions of this work. 

Whatever murky waters that may lie ahead, the general editor and the contributors should be congratulated again for their arduous work thus far, and their efforts to keep this valuable work up to date and relevant for practitioners and the courts alike.” 

  Andrew Cheung, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, February 2019

About the Authors: Felix W H Chan is an associate professor in the Faculty of Law, the University of Hong Kong. Neville Sarony QC, SC is a respected and experienced personal injury practitioner in Hong Kong. Wai-Sum Chan is a Professor of Finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Johnny SH Li is a Professor of Actuarial Studies at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and a Professor of Actuarial Science at the University of Waterloo, Canada.

Lusina Ho and Rebecca Lee Awarded HKU's KE Excellence Award 2018 for Special Needs Trust

L-R: L Ho & R Lee

Congratulations to Lusina Ho and Rebecca Lee who were awarded HKU's Knowledge Exchange (KE) Excellence Award 2018 for their impactful special needs trust (SNT) project.  In 2016, Ho and Lee researched and recommended the innovative idea of a government-led trust to assist persons with special needs, including those with intellectual disabilities and cognitive impairments, and their families by providing affordable long-term asset management services.  The Hong Kong government readily took up the idea, which was mentioned in the Chief Executive's Policy Addresses in 2016, 2017 and 2018.  In late 2018, the Hong Kong rolled out the new service (see Press Release) and announced that it would begin to accept applications in March 2019.  Ho and Lee's idea of a government-led SNT is already informing policy-making in other jurisdictions including South Korea.  This is the second time the Faculty of Law has won this university wide award since 2015 when it was created.

New FinTech Regulation and Policy Project Funded by RGC's Research Impact Fund (PI: Douglas Arner, HKU Law, HK$4.3M)

Kerry Holdings Professor

Congratulations to Professor Douglas Arner who is leading a research project recently awarded HK$4.3 million (including $1.3 million matching by HKU) from the Research Grants Council's new Research Impact Fund 2018/19. The title of the project is Balancing the Opportunities and Risks of Financial Technology: FinTech Regulation and Policy.  The team members of this international and interdisciplinary project include Ross Buckley from the University of New South Wales, David C. Donald from Chinese University of Hong Kong, George Q. Huang from HKU (Business & Economics), Chen Lin from HKU (Business & Economics), Siuming Yiu from HKU (Computer Science), and Dirk A. Zetzsche from the University of Luxembourg.

  Project Description: Finance and technology have always been inextricably intertwined, from the earliest development of money (e.g. coins are a technology which stores value, provides a unit of account and a means of payment) to today’s e-money solutions (from mobile payment to cryptocurrencies). Within that interaction between finance and technology law plays a critical role as it defines the use, limitation and function of money in society.

    The 1970s marks the beginning of a change of the relationship between finance, technology and law. The arrival of mainframe computers initiated a process of digitisation of finance, which has only increased ever since with the improvement in computing power, datafication of the financial services industry and availability of analytical tools.

     Following the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, a second evolution in the interaction between finance, technology and regulation occurred. It was brought by two factors. First, the arrival of new participants (from start-ups to major technology and communications companies) in financial markets. Second the extremely rapid datafication of society brought by increased mobile phone penetration (5 billion), IoT devices (20 billion) which can be stored and managed on new infrastructure (blockchain and DLT) analysed by tools such as artificial intelligence.

     This second phase is now generally identified by the term “FinTech” and has gathered the interest of policymakers, regulators, private sectors and investors in every major financial centre, including Hong Kong. Whilst FinTech development offers many opportunities (i.e. better competition, financial inclusion, economic development) certain risks emerge. In particular where FinTech responds to unmet demands, a new segment on consumer can be at exposed. Furthermore, when FinTech relies on new technological advancements, new unanswered questions emerge (i.e. what of GDPR compliance of distributed data on blockchain).

     Hong Kong’s opportunities and risks are compounded by its geographical situation. It's proximity to China and centre place in Asia put’s Hong Kong at the heart of the regions witnessing the most dramatic changes in finance and technology. The tension brought by these changes will reveal (in)adequacies of the law and its role in facilitation the interaction between finance and technology. This opens an opportunity for reform, one which will look at new laws and regulations but also how this can be improved with technology (what the authors refer as Smart Regulation, part of Regtech)

     This research project will provide a comprehensive study benefiting the agenda of Hong Kong’s regulators and policymakers in respect to FinTech development. Therefore it will support the city’s ambition to retain its leadership as a financial centre. Given the benchmarking work that will be conducted and Hong Kong’s geographical location at the forefront of change, this work can be exported in other jurisdiction as foresight of what will occur in the future.

Wildlife Victim Impact Statement Assists Prosecution in Hong Kong Rhinoceros Horns Case (Sing Tao Daily)

"About 1.7 million yuan of rhinoceros horns: Mainland male pleaded guilty" (translated into English)

Sing Tao Daily

19 October 2018

A Chinese man working in South Africa who smuggled 3.11 kg of rhinoceros horns into Hong Kong from Mozambique in June this year was today sentenced in the District Court to 12 months imprisonment, reduced to 8 months on a guilty plea.

     The defendant, Wei Bin, claimed to work in Mozambique. He flew to Hong Kong on June 17 this year intending to transfer to the mainland to visit relatives. During his period of entry, he was found by the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department to be carrying rhinoceros horn (Rhinaceae species). As a highly endangered animal and an Appendix 1 listed species, possession of rhinoceros horn is prohibited under CITES (The Convention on Trade in Endangered Species). The defendant told the court that his boss knew that he would return home to visit relatives and promised to pay his ticket cost on the condition he carry rhinoceros horn to Fujian, China, where someone would be waiting to receive it. The defendant also stated that he knew that the goods were rhino horns belonging to the category of Appendix I CITES. The defendant was arrested by the Customs and Excise Department after he was found to have a rhinoceros horn in his baggage and could not produce a certificate of exemption for possession.The prosecutor told the court the estimated market value of the horns was between 830,000 to 1.7 million Hong Kong dollars. ​

     Since August 1, 2018, under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap 586), anyone who possesses a specimen of Appendix I species is liable on conviction to a fine of 10 million and 10 years' imprisonment. Committed to raising public awareness of wildlife crimes, Amanda Whitfort, a professor at the University of Hong Kong Law School who participated in the amendments to the Ordinance, said that in the past, if the case did not involve a commercial transaction, the court could only sentence the defendant to a maximum fine of HK$100,000 and imprisonment for 1 year. Professor Whitfort lamented past cases in which sentencers had failed to pay due regard to the impact of wildlife crime on the increasing extinction of species globally. Together with staff at the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, Professor Whitfort prepared a victim impact statement for rhinoceros which was used by prosecutors in Wei Bin's case to advise the judge on the impact of the crime. The sentence delivered today is the highest ever passed in Hong Kong for the smuggling of rhino horn. 

     Whitfort's research shows that the rising value of Hong Kong seizures in trafficked animals is now comparable with seizures in dangerous drugs. Given their lucrative black market value, and the finality of extinction, she has argued wildlife trafficking cases should be taken by the courts at least as seriously as drug trafficking offences.

HKU Law Faculty Awarded Four KE Impact Project Awards 2017/18

The University of Hong Kong's Knowledge Exchange (KE) Funding Scheme for Impact Projects supports (A) projects that have the potential to create social, economic, environmental or cultural impacts for industry, business or the community by building on expertise or knowledge in the University; and (B) projects designed to collect evidence for corroboration and evaluation of impacts. Engagement projects that aim to benefit non-academic communities beyond Hong Kong are strongly encouraged.  

     The Faculty of Law was successful in obtaining four awards in the 2017/18 round of funding, each in the amount of HK$100,000.  Congratulations to Dora Chan, Katherine Lynch, Anne Cheung and Richard Wu.  The details of their projects are described below:

Ms Dora Chan 
E-package of DIY Residential Tenancy Agreement 
The proposed project aims to provide the public community with a template residential tenancy agreement and a set of useful guidelines (including stamping and registration procedures) on how to enter into a valid residential tenancy agreement. Members of the public can then use and adapt the template to independently enter into a tenancy agreement for their residential homes, an important document that has a significant impact on their daily lives, without the costs and trouble of engaging a lawyer. The main objective is to provide free legal support to the community and to encourage knowledge exchange on tenancy matters. 

Ms Katherine Lynch 
Evaluation of the Children’s Issues Forums & Legal Reform of Child and Family Law & Policy in Hong Kong 
This project aims to collect evidence for corroboration and evaluation of impacts arising from the research and knowledge exchange project, “Children’s Issues Forums & Legal Reform of Child and Family Law in Hong Kong”, which created a multidisciplinary forum enhancing policy and legal reform for children’s issues in Hong Kong. The project will evaluate through quantitative and qualitative measures the impact of the project on increasing public awareness of children’s issues, changing legal policy on and creating pressure for law reform in Hong Kong’s child and family justice system. 

Professor Anne Cheung 
Hong Kong SAR Treaties e-Library 
The proposed project aims to provide free access to legal information for the public in Hong Kong by building a one-stop comprehensive and electronically searchable database of treaties and international agreements applied to the Hong Kong SAR in Hong Kong Legal Information Institute (HKLII). The key objective is to support the community and engage in knowledge exchange.

Dr Richard Wu 
Engaging Local School Teachers with Common Law Concepts and Values Through Experiential Learning 
This project is a pioneering interdisciplinary collaboration in common law education for local school teachers between academics from HKU Law and Social Science Faculties as well as academics from two other local universities. On basis of the project team members’ previous teaching and research projects on common law education for ‘non-law’ students and experiential learning in law, as well as teacher education, this project will engage local school teachers with common law concepts and values through experiential learning like case discussion, personal sharing by senior lawyers, and visual media . The project attempts to impact local school teachers by promoting their understanding of the common law system in Hong Kong and enhance their awareness of general common law concepts and specific common law values like justice and equality. 

New Funding for Two HKU Law Knowledge Exchange Impact Projects 2016-2017

Congratulations to Benny Tai and Amanda Whitfort who were awarded HKU Knowledge Exchange Impact Project Funding 2016-2017.  Each were awarded approximately HKD100,000.  Tai's project, "Post-exam Rule of Law Seminars in Secondary Schools", is part of the Faculty of Law's Rule of Law Education Project which started in 2012 and was recently awarded the Faculty Knowledge Exchange Award 2016.  HKU law students serve as interns to the Project and will conduct school visits and lessons to up to 2,000 secondary school students at 10 to 12 schools.  Whitfort's project, "Wildlife Crime: Knowledge Transfer for Informed Sentencing", aims to develop and provide resources (e.g. dossiers and workshops) to those prosecuting wildlife crime to improve their capacity to inform and assist the court in these cases.

    The Faculty of Law recently published a booklet titled, Knowledge Exchange and Impact 2016.  It profiles 11 case studies and 22 colleagues whose research has had impact in the local and overseas community. The impact has been in the areas of human rights, community legal information, judicial studies, children's issues, animal welfare, competition law, clinical legal education, financial technologies, rule of law education, political reform and actuarial assessment of damages for personal injuries.  In my opening message as Associate Dean (Research), I wrote

"Knowledge exchange (KE) is the sharing of knowledge with non-academic communities to realise meaningful research impact. For legal academics, those communities typically include the courts, government bureaus and bodies, international organisations, law reform agencies, legal practitioners, non-governmental organisations, educational institutions, and, of course, individuals with legal problems.

Our Faculty has a long track record of KE with local and international communities, and this booklet captures more recent impactful work undertaken by colleagues. Going forwards, the Faculty’s KE strategy aims for more international impact that directly contributes to law and policy making. With the assistance of our KE Manager, we will continue our pro-active approach of identifying evidence of and opportunities for research impact."

The booklet can be read and downloaded here.

Keith Hotten's Co-Authored 'Hong Kong Family Court Practice' Cited by the Court of First Instance

Congratulations to Keith Hotten whose co-authored practitioners' text, Hong Kong Family Court Practice, 2nd edn, was cited with approval by the Court of First Instance in the case, C v N (unreported, HCMP154/2016, 16 March 2016).  Madam Justice Au-Yeung cited the text for its statement of the modified principles of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction applicable to the case (see [15]).  The case concerned a mother who had taken her two children from Taiwan, where they resided with their father, to Hong Kong.  The father brought the application for custody and return of the children to Taiwan.  Dr Hotten's text was published in June 2015 by LexisNexis Butterworths.  More recently, the text was cited in DCB v AB (unreported, HCMP 2173/2014, 28 July 2017) fn 4.