Sued in Hong Kong's Small Claims Tribunal? Five Moves Before the Call-Over

What has arrived, and how long do you have?

Two documents: a copy of the claim and a notice of the date and place of the hearing. Section 14 of the Small Claims Tribunal Ordinance (Cap. 338) requires the registrar to fix that hearing not later than 60 days after the claim was filed, and to serve both papers on every defendant: by hand, by leaving them at your last known home or business, by post to either, or in another way the registrar directs.

Post counts. You cannot defeat a claim by not collecting a letter, and the Tribunal will enter judgment against you only if it is satisfied the papers were served under section 14(2) (section 17(4)). If they genuinely never reached you, that becomes your reason when you apply to set the judgment aside.

Read the claim for three things: who is suing (a person, a company, or a trade name), how much and how it was calculated, and what it is founded on. The Tribunal hears monetary claims in contract, quasi-contract or tort of HK$75,000 or less, and not, among others, defamation, money-lender loans or employment claims that belong to the Labour Tribunal (Schedule, paragraph 1). A claim outside that list is a point to raise at the call-over.

Five responses, and which one fits

The Judiciary's Pamphlet 3, What a defendant may do after receipt of the claim (2nd edition, December 2018), is organised around five situations. Choose yours before the call-over, because each one needs something different in your hands on the day.

Do you have to file a written defence?

If you dispute the claim, yes, and early. Pamphlet 3 tells a defendant who disagrees with all or part of the claim to file a defence with the Tribunal Registry, marked defence on the envelope, and to send the claimant a copy well in advance of the call-over date.

A defence is a document saying whether you dispute liability, the amount, or both, and why. The pamphlet asks you to answer each and every allegation in the claim form, paragraph by paragraph. A bare denial wastes the one document the Tribunal Officer will read before meeting you.

If you do not file one before the call-over, the case does not end. When a dispute is not settled there, the Adjudicator gives directions, typically for the defence, any counterclaim, witness statements and supporting documents, and adjourns to a mention hearing (Pamphlet 5, paragraph 2.3). Ignore those directions and the Tribunal may enter judgment against you without a trial and order costs (section 26A).

How do you counterclaim, and what does it cost?

A counterclaim is your own claim against the claimant, arising from the same facts, heard together with theirs. Pamphlet 3 says it must be filed on the Form of Counterclaim at the Tribunal Registry, in person or by your representative: post, fax or email is not acceptable. You then post a copy to the claimant yourself.

The filing fee is the same scale as a claim, set by the Tribunal's fees table (October 2024):

• Above HK$75,000, or outside the Tribunal's list? Section 10(1) requires the counterclaim to be transferred to the court that can hear it, and section 10(2) holds up enforcement of any award on the claim until it is decided. The Judiciary's Pamphlet 5 describes the result as the whole case, claim and counterclaim, being transferred.
• Or stay in the Tribunal. Section 10(3) lets you abandon the excess over HK$75,000 so the Tribunal can hear the counterclaim, but the award then fully discharges it: the abandoned part is gone.

Paying, or asking for time

If you accept the debt, paying early is cheaper than losing. Before the call-over, and before any defence is filed, you may pay into court without the Adjudicator's permission a sum equal to the amount claimed plus the claimant's filing fee as costs (Pamphlet 3, paragraph 1.1). Cheques go by post or in person to the Tribunal's Accounts Office at least 5 working days before the call-over, crossed and payable to HKSAR GOVT. The registrar may then take the case off the call-over list; if that could be unfair to the claimant, the case stays listed and you still attend.

After the call-over, or once a defence is filed, a payment into court needs a written application stating the amount, whether it is in full or partial settlement, and whether costs are included. The claimant can sign to accept it as full and final settlement.

If you owe the money but cannot pay it at once, you apply at the call-over for time or for instalments. Bring a table of your monthly income and expenditure and the documents behind it: bank statements, tax returns and, for a company, audited accounts (Pamphlet 3, paragraph 2).

What happens at the call-over?

A Tribunal Officer interviews both sides for the Adjudicator: classifies the case as defended or undefended, tries to bring about a settlement on a voluntary basis, and identifies the issues if none is reached. The officer cannot give you legal advice. A settlement is put to the Adjudicator as a consent order, sent to both sides by post (Pamphlet 5, paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2).

Mediation is also available. The Judiciary's Integrated Mediation Office (West Kowloon) has arranged free mediation sessions for Small Claims parties who agree to mediate since 5 July 2022, and the Adjudicator may encourage it at a suitable stage.

Missed it, or lost? Three 7-day doors

The deadlines are short. For a review the Judiciary says the time limit must be observed strictly. Pamphlet 7 (4th edition, October 2025) sets out which door is which.

What does losing cost a defendant?

More than the claim, but less than in a court with lawyers. The losing side can be ordered to pay:

• The award itself, up to HK$75,000.
• Interest, from when the claim arose to the award, and on the award until it is paid, at the District Court judgment-debt rate (section 33), whether or not the claimant asked for it.
• Costs and expenses under section 24: the other side's reasonable expenses and lost wages, and their witnesses', for attending. There are no lawyers' fees at the Tribunal to shift.
• Enforcement, if you do not pay: the award is enforced in the District Court like its own judgment (section 32), usually by the Bailiff under a writ that costs the claimant HK$55 to file.