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How to read legal citations in Hong Kong

Hong Kong keeps the common-law system of its past and has its own courts, headed by the Court of Final Appeal. Cases are cited to the Hong Kong law reports and, since 2018, also carry a neutral citation. Statutes are called ordinances and have a chapter ('Cap') number.

Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

Style guide: HKCLAM (Hong Kong Citation of Legal Authorities and Materials). A citation guide made for Hong Kong materials. Many Hong Kong law schools also use OSCOLA, and the Hong Kong Law Journal has its own house style.

Real citations, decoded

Click or hover over any underlined piece to see what it means.

A Court of Final Appeal case Case

  1. Case name Ng Ka Ling v Director of Immigration
    The parties. This is the 1999 right-of-abode case.
  2. Year in round brackets (1999)
    In the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Reports the year is in round brackets, because it is extra information, not needed to find the volume.
  3. Volume 2
    Volume 2 of that year.
  4. Report series HKCFAR
    Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Reports, the official reports of the court.
  5. First page 4
    The page where the report begins.

The same case is also reported as [1999] 1 HKLRD 315 (Hong Kong Law Reports and Digest).

Full citation: Ng Ka Ling v Director of Immigration (1999) 2 HKCFAR 4

A Court of Final Appeal criminal case Case

  1. Case name HKSAR v Ng Kung Siu
    'HKSAR' means the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which brings prosecutions as the 'Crown' would elsewhere. This is the flag-desecration case.
  2. Year (1999)
    The year of the report.
  3. Volume 2
    Volume 2.
  4. Report series HKCFAR
    Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Reports.
  5. First page 442
    The page where the report begins.
Full citation: HKSAR v Ng Kung Siu (1999) 2 HKCFAR 442

The Basic Law Constitution

,

  1. Instrument Basic Law
    The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, which works as Hong Kong's constitution.
  2. Article art 158
    Article 158 gives the power of final interpretation of the Basic Law to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
Full citation: Basic Law, art 158

Things to remember

  • Ordinances are cited by title and chapter number, for example Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap 1). The chapter number stays the same when the ordinance is amended.
  • Since 2018, Hong Kong judgments carry a neutral citation such as HKCFA (Court of Final Appeal), HKCA (Court of Appeal), HKCFI (Court of First Instance) or HKDC (District Court).
  • 'HKLRD' and 'HKCLRT' are other common Hong Kong report series.
  • Hong Kong practice is to give a local person's full name in a case title, but only the surname for overseas cases.

Where to find the text, free

To understand how courts and law fit together in Hong Kong, read the Hong Kong profile in the Legal Families Atlas.

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TheLawToKnow Tools’s citation guide is an educational overview of standard conventions. Courts and journals sometimes vary, so check the style guide before submitting or publishing. It is not legal advice. Report a mistake.