Hong Kong

• The Basic Law of Hong Kong, which works as its constitution
• Ordinances passed by the Legislative Council
• Common law and equity, developed by the courts
• Customary law, in limited matters such as certain land and succession rules

• The Court of Final Appeal at the top, which may invite judges from other common-law places to sit
• The High Court (the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance)
• District Court and magistrates' courts below them

The profession is split into barristers and solicitors. Lawyers qualified abroad can take the Overseas Lawyers Qualification Examination (OLQE) to become solicitors.

• A common-law system sits inside a country whose mainland system is civil law.
• The Basic Law is interpreted in the end by the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress.
• English and Chinese are both official languages in the courts.
• The system's rules and institutions have changed in recent years, so check current developments.

United Kingdom, Singapore, China, Australia, India

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Hong Kong as: Common law, Customary. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Cook Islands, Dominica, Fiji, Ghana, Grenada, India, Ireland, Jamaica.

• The Hong Kong Judiciary
• The Basic Law (HKSAR Government)

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.