Small Claims Mediation in Hong Kong Is Free, Not HK$200. Settle or Fight?
Applies in Hong Kong SAR
Direct answer: in 2026, mediation for a Hong Kong Small Claims Tribunal case costs the parties nothing. The HK$200-a-party fee that many pages still quote belonged to a government pilot scheme that ended on 30 June 2022. Since 5 July 2022 the Judiciary's Integrated Mediation Office (West Kowloon), at 2 Ying Wa Street next to the building that houses the Tribunal, has arranged free mediation sessions for parties who agree to mediate, with accredited mediators from outside the Judiciary. Mediation is voluntary, nobody can make you sign, and the claim carries on if it fails. So the fee is not the decision. The decision is whether a smaller sum paid now is worth more than an award of up to HK$75,000 that you may still have to enforce.
Is small claims mediation in Hong Kong free, or HK$200?
Both figures were true, at different times. When the West Kowloon Mediation Centre opened on 8 November 2018, the Department of Justice launched a pilot scheme there, run by the Joint Mediation Helpline Office, and parties paid what the Department called a nominal, all-inclusive application fee of $200 each.
The Judiciary's announcement of 4 July 2022 closes that chapter in one sentence: The pilot scheme ended on June 30, 2022. The Judiciary took over the premises and opened the Integrated Mediation Office (West Kowloon), usually written IMO(WK), on 5 July 2022. Its free services are general enquiries on court-related mediation, video and information sessions, pre-mediation consultations, arranging mediation services provided by accredited mediators outside the Judiciary, and a resource corner.
The pilot scheme's own web page is still online and still shows the HK$200 application fee, which is why the number keeps being repeated. If anyone asks you for HK$200, call the IMO(WK) on 2388 3070 before you pay.
| Pilot scheme | IMO(WK) | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | 8 November 2018 to 30 June 2022 | From 5 July 2022 |
| Run by | Joint Mediation Helpline Office, supervised by the Department of Justice | The Judiciary |
| Cost to each party | HK$200 application fee | Free |
| How a case arrives | Suitable Tribunal cases, and other suitable cases | Adjudicators identify suitable cases for referral; you may also approach the office for an information session |
| Who mediates | A mediator matched from the centre's panel | Accredited mediators outside the Judiciary |
Sources: Department of Justice press release, 8 November 2018; Judiciary press release, 4 July 2022; IMO(WK) page. The office is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 1:00pm and 2:00pm to 6:00pm, and is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
What is mediation, and what can a mediator do?
Defined term: mediation, under section 4 of the Mediation Ordinance (Cap. 620), is a structured process of one or more sessions in which an impartial individual, without adjudicating a dispute or any aspect of it, assists the parties to identify the issues, explore options, communicate with one another, and reach an agreement on the whole or part of the dispute.
Defined term: a mediated settlement agreement is the agreement the parties reach at the end, settling the whole or part of their dispute. The mediator does not decide who is right and, in the Judiciary's words, has no authority to impose a settlement on the parties.
Two people at the Tribunal are easy to confuse with the mediator. The Tribunal Officer who interviews both sides at the call-over, the first hearing, also helps to bring about a settlement on a voluntary basis, but is a court officer and cannot give you legal advice. The Adjudicator decides the case if nobody settles. The mediator is neither of them: an accredited practitioner from outside the Judiciary.
One rule is different at the mediation table. Under section 19(2) of the Small Claims Tribunal Ordinance (Cap. 338), no barrister or solicitor has a right of audience before the Tribunal unless acting on his own behalf as a party. Mediation is not a hearing. The Judiciary says you do not generally need a lawyer to take part, that you may consult one to prepare, and that some people take independent legal advice before an agreement is reached.
How does a Small Claims case reach mediation?
There are two doors, a referral and a walk-in, and neither commits you to anything.
The route was well used under the old scheme. Up to 30 April 2021, 966 cases had been referred by the Tribunal, 56% of them went on to apply for mediation, and the success rate was around 50%. Multiply the two and roughly 28 in every 100 referred cases ended in a settlement. These are the most recent figures for Small Claims referrals that we could find, and they predate the free service.
From claim to mediation
- File the claim. The filing fee is HK$20 to HK$120 depending on the amount, and section 14 of Cap. 338 requires the registrar to fix a first hearing not later than 60 days after filing.
- Call-over. A Tribunal Officer interviews both sides, classifies the case as defended or undefended and helps to bring about a settlement. If you agree there, the settlement goes to the Adjudicator for a consent order.
- Referral. After a claim is filed, the Adjudicator may encourage the parties to consider mediation at a suitable stage, and adjudicators identify suitable cases for referral to the IMO(WK).
- Or walk in. The office answers enquiries, runs information sessions and gives pre-mediation consultations to Small Claims parties free of charge. Its staff will not give legal advice or comment on the conduct of a specific case.
- Both sides agree. Free mediation sessions are arranged for parties who agree to mediate. If one side says no, there is no mediation.
- The session. The Judiciary describes a joint session in which each side sets out its view, then private meetings in separate rooms with the mediator passing between them. The parties may end the session at any time.
Is an offer to mediate a trap?
No, for three reasons that are written down.
- It is voluntary. The Judiciary: Unless they totally agree, there will be no final resolution and nobody can force them to sign any agreement.
- What you say stays out of the hearing. Section 8(1) of Cap. 620 says a person must not disclose a mediation communication, subject to listed exceptions, and section 9 says a mediation communication may be admitted in evidence in any proceedings only with leave. A mediation communication is anything said or done, any document prepared, or any information provided for the purpose of or in the course of mediation. Section 10(3) names the courts that can give that leave. The Small Claims Tribunal is not among them, so in any other case the application goes to the Court of First Instance.
- A failed attempt does not count against you. The Judiciary: The parties will not be at a disadvantage after trying mediation which turns out to be unsuccessful.
What is a settlement worth against a hearing?
A settlement and an award are not two prices for the same thing. An award is the Adjudicator's decision on a claim of up to HK$75,000. A settlement is money the other side has agreed to pay. The Judiciary's own pamphlet for people about to start a claim puts the gap bluntly: Even if you obtain a judgment in your favour, there is no guarantee that you will get your money back eventually.
So price the hearing in two steps: the chance the Tribunal awards what you claim, then the chance you actually collect it. The table runs a HK$40,000 claim through both steps for two different files. The percentages are illustrative inputs that you would estimate yourself, not statistics.
Three things move those numbers, and only one of them is about who is right. How good is your evidence? Can this defendant pay? How long can you wait? The first hearing is fixed within 60 days of filing, but it is a call-over, and a defended case then goes through one or more mention hearings before a trial date is fixed.
| Thin file, doubtful payer | Strong file, solvent payer | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount claimed | HK$40,000 | HK$40,000 |
| Your estimate: chance of a full award | 70% | 90% |
| Your estimate: chance of collecting it | 80% | 95% |
| What the hearing is worth | HK$40,000 × 0.70 × 0.80 = HK$22,400 | HK$40,000 × 0.90 × 0.95 = HK$34,200 |
| HK$30,000 paid now | Worth more than the hearing | Worth less than the hearing: counter higher |
Illustrative arithmetic only. It leaves out the wait for a trial date, the HK$55 filing fee for a writ of execution and the Bailiff's deposit if you have to enforce, and the interest an award carries under section 33 of Cap. 338.
How do you make a settlement enforceable?
A signed agreement will be binding on the parties, as the Judiciary puts it. Binding is not the same as enforceable tomorrow. The old pilot scheme's FAQ spelt out the difference: a mediated settlement agreement is not enforceable as a judgment, an order of the court, or an arbitration award, and if one side breaks it, the other may sue on it as a contract.
That is why the form of the settlement matters as much as the number. There are three ways to close a filed claim, and they leave you in very different positions if the money does not arrive.
| How it is recorded | What you hold | If the other side does not pay |
|---|---|---|
| Consent order made by the Adjudicator | An order of the Tribunal, sent to the parties by mail | The Bailiff route is open: a Writ of Fieri Facias costs HK$55 to file, plus the Bailiff's deposit. Section 32 of Cap. 338 lets a Tribunal award be enforced in the District Court as a judgment of that court |
| Signed settlement agreement only | A contract | A new claim for breach of the agreement, with the agreement as your evidence |
| Payment in full, then a Notice of Discontinuance | The money | Nothing is left to enforce. After the call-over, discontinuing needs the Adjudicator's permission, and you must still attend unless the hearing date is vacated |
Sources: Judiciary pamphlets 4, 5 and 8 for the Small Claims Tribunal; the Tribunal’s level of fees; Cap. 338, section 32.
What happens to the claim if mediation fails?
It carries on as if the session had not happened. The Tribunal gives directions for the defence, the reply, witness statements and supporting documents, the case goes to a mention hearing, and the Adjudicator fixes a trial only when all parties confirm that they have no further evidence to produce.
Treat every hearing date as live unless the Tribunal itself tells you it has been vacated. The Judiciary says exactly that about discontinuing a claim after the call-over: unless permission is granted and the date is vacated, the parties must attend as originally directed.
A failed session is rarely wasted. You have heard the other side’s best points and their number, and the Judiciary notes that the parties may find out that the issues are clearer as a result. What you cannot do is quote any of it at trial.
Can a refusal to mediate be held against you? The Judiciary's mediation FAQ, which is written for civil cases generally, says a court deciding costs will take into account whether a party has unreasonably refused to take part. In the Tribunal the sums at stake are small: section 24 of Cap. 338 describes costs in terms of reasonable expenses necessarily incurred and lost salary or wages of a party or a witness, and with no right of audience for lawyers there is no advocate's bill for the hearing.
How do you prepare for a small claims mediation?
The Judiciary's list is four items long. The last two steps below are ours.
Before the session
- Know the facts. Familiarize yourself with the facts of the case: the dates, the amounts, who said what, and which document proves each point.
- Work out your options. Consider in advance various acceptable settlement options: a lump sum, instalments, a return of goods, a later date.
- Take advice first if you need it. Seek prior legal advice if necessary. The mediator will not give legal advice, even a mediator who is a qualified lawyer.
- Bring the person who can say yes. Arrange to have individuals whose decisions are necessary for resolution present for the entire mediation. If a director has to approve the figure, the director comes.
- Write down three numbers. What you claim. What you expect the Tribunal to award on your evidence, after the two-step discount above. And your walk-away figure, below which the hearing is the better bet.
- Decide the terms, not just the sum. The payment date, any instalment schedule, what happens on default, and how the settlement will be recorded.
Settle or fight: the short rule
Settle when the offer beats what the hearing is worth after both discounts and the terms can be recorded as an order. Go to the hearing when it does not.
- Lean towards settling if your evidence has a gap you cannot fill, the defendant may not be able to pay a full award, you need the money soon, or you want to keep dealing with this person.
- Lean towards the hearing if your documents are complete, the defendant is plainly able to pay, the offer is a small fraction of the claim, or the other side will not agree to a consent order.
- Either way, attend the session. It is free, what is said there is confidential, and you can end it at any time.
Sources: Judiciary press release, 4 July 2022 — Integrated Mediation Office (West Kowloon) to commence operation; pilot scheme ended 30 June 2022; free mediation sessions, Judiciary — Integrated Mediation Office (West Kowloon): services, address, opening hours, Department of Justice press release, 8 November 2018 — West Kowloon Mediation Centre opens; pilot scheme application fee of $200 each, news.gov.hk, 28 May 2021 — Secretary for Justice: 966 Small Claims cases referred to 30 April 2021, 56% applied, success rate around 50%, Judiciary — Small Claims Tribunal: HK$75,000 limit, filing fees, mediation, Judiciary pamphlet 1 — Before you start a claim, Judiciary pamphlet 4 — General procedures (discontinuance of claim), Judiciary pamphlet 5 — How to prepare for and conduct a hearing or trial (call-over, consent order), Judiciary pamphlet 8 — How to enforce a judgment, Small Claims Tribunal — Level of Fees (writ of execution HK$55), Small Claims Tribunal Ordinance (Cap. 338), ss.14, 19, 24, 32 and 33, Mediation Ordinance (Cap. 620), ss.2, 4, 8, 9 and 10, Judiciary — Mediation: frequently asked questions, Joint Mediation Helpline Office — FAQ of the former Small Claims Mediation Pilot Scheme (legal effect of a mediated settlement agreement). Fees, procedures and statutory provisions are those published by the Judiciary, the Department of Justice and on Hong Kong e-Legislation, checked on 30 September 2026. The referral figures are the Government’s, to 30 April 2021, and relate to the former pilot scheme. The worked example uses illustrative percentages, not data. Arrangements change, so confirm them with the Integrated Mediation Office (West Kowloon) before you rely on them. This is general information, not legal advice.