Hong Kong Ordinances

DISTRICT COURT ORDINANCE - SECT 48

General ancillary jurisdiction

(Past version on 01/07/1997).
(Past version on 30/06/1997).

Exercise of Jurisdiction and Ancillary Jurisdiction

(1) The Court has the same power as the Court of First Instance in any
proceedings before it-

   (a)  to grant the relief, redress, or remedy or combination of remedies,
        either absolute or conditional; and

   (b)  subject to section 46, to give effect to every ground of defence or
        counterclaim, equitable or legal, which ought to be granted or given.

(2) The Court has to administer law and equity so that, if there is a conflict
or variance between the rules of equity and the rules of the common law
referring to the same matter, the rules of equity prevail.

(3) The Court has to give the same effect as in the past-

   (a)  to equitable estates, titles, rights, relieves, defences and
        counterclaims, and to equitable duties and liabilities; and

   (b)  subject to paragraph (a), to legal claims and demands and estates,
        titles, rights, duties, obligations, and liabilities existing by the
        common law or by any custom or created by an Ordinance.

(4) The Court has to exercise its jurisdiction to secure that, as far as
possible, all matters in dispute between the parties are completely and
finally determined, and multiplicity of legal proceedings on any of those
matters is avoided.

(5) The Court may stay any proceedings before it, where it thinks fit to do
so, either of its own motion or on the application of any person, whether or
not a party to the proceedings. (Replaced 28 of 2000 s. 24)