### Legal Practitioners Ordinance 《法律執業者條例》

66. Action to recover costs
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, no action shall be brought to recover any costs due to a solicitor until 1 month after a bill thereof has been delivered in accordance with the requirements of this section: 
Provided that, if there is probable cause for believing that the party chargeable with the costs is about to quit Hong Kong, or become a bankrupt, or to enter into a voluntary arrangement with his creditors within the meaning of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6), or to do any other act which would tend to prevent or delay the solicitor obtaining payment, the Court may, notwithstanding that 1 month has not expired from the delivery of the bill, order that the solicitor be at liberty to commence an action to recover his costs and may order those costs to be taxed. (Amended 50 of 1982 s. 8; 27 of 1998 s. 7) 
(2) The said requirements are as follows—
(a) the bill must be signed by the solicitor, or if the costs are due to a firm by one of the partners of that firm, either in his own name or in the name of the firm, or be enclosed in, or accompanied by, a letter which is so signed and refers to the bill; and 
(b) the bill must be delivered to the party to be charged therewith, either personally or by being sent to him by post to, or left for him at, his place of business, dwelling house or last known place of abode, 
and where a bill is proved to have been delivered in compliance with those requirements, it shall not be necessary in the first instance for the solicitor to prove the contents of the bill and it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown, to be a bill bona fide complying with this Ordinance. 
[cf. 1957 c. 7 s. 68 U.K.]

### Legal Practitioners Ordinance 《法律執業者條例》

68. Taxation on application of third parties
(1)  Where a person other than the person who is the party chargeable with the bill for the purposes of section 67 has paid, or is or was liable to pay, the bill to the solicitor or the foreign lawyer, or to the party chargeable with the bill, that person or his executors, administrators or assignees may apply to the Court for an order for the taxation of the bill as if he were the party chargeable therewith, and the Court may make thereon the same order, if any, as it might have made if the application had been made by that party:
Provided that, in cases where the Court has no power to make an order except in special circumstances, the Court may, in considering whether there are special circumstances sufficient to justify it in making an order, take into account circumstances affecting the applicant but which do not affect the party chargeable with the bill. 
(2)  If a trustee, executor or administrator has become liable to pay a bill of a solicitor or of a foreign lawyer the Court may, upon the application of any person interested in any property out of which the trustee, executor or administrator has paid, or is entitled to pay, the bill, and upon such terms, if any, as it thinks fit, order the bill to be taxed, and may order such payments, in respect of the amount found due to or by the solicitor or the foreign lawyer and in respect of the costs of the taxation, to be made to or by the applicant, or to or by the solicitor or the foreign lawyer, or to the executor, administrator or trustee as it thinks fit:

Provided that in considering any such application the Court shall have regard to—
(a) the provisions of section 67 as to applications by the party chargeable with a solicitor’s bill or a foreign lawyer’s bill so far as they are capable of being applied to an application made under this subsection;
(b) the extent and nature of the interest of the applicant. 

(3) If an applicant under subsection (2) pays any money to the solicitor or the foreign lawyer, he shall have the same right to be paid that money by the trustee, executor or administrator chargeable with the bill as the solicitor or the foreign lawyer had.
(4) On an application made under this section—
(a) except in special circumstances, no order shall be made for the taxation of a bill which has already been taxed; 
(b) the Court may, if it orders taxation of the bill, order the solicitor or the foreign lawyer to deliver to the applicant a copy of the bill upon payment of the costs of that copy.
(Amended 80 of 1997 s. 41)[cf. 1957 c. 27 s. 70 U.K.]

### Legal Practitioners Ordinance 《法律執業者條例》

69. General provisions as to taxations
(1) Every application for an order for the taxation of a solicitor’s bill or a foreign lawyer’s bill or for the delivery of such a bill and the delivering up of any deeds, documents and papers by a solicitor or by a foreign lawyer shall be made in the matter of that solicitor or that foreign lawyer. (Amended 80 of 1997 s. 42)
(2) The certificate of the taxing officer by whom any bill has been taxed shall, unless it is set aside or altered by the Court, be final as to the amount of the costs covered thereby, and the Court may make such order in relation thereto as it thinks fit, including, in a case where the retainer is not disputed, an order that judgment be entered for the sum certified to be due with costs. 
[cf. 1957 c. 27 s. 71 U.K.]

70. Charging orders
Any court in which a solicitor has been employed to prosecute or defend any suit, matter or proceeding may at any time declare the solicitor entitled to a charge on the property recovered or preserved through his instrumentality for his taxed costs in reference to that suit, matter or proceeding and may make such orders for the taxation of the said costs and for raising money to pay, or for paying, the said costs out of the said property, as it thinks fit, and all conveyances and acts done to defeat, or operating to defeat, that charge shall, except in the case of a conveyance to a bona fide purchaser for value without notice, be void as against the solicitor: 
Provided that no order shall be made if the right to recover the costs is barred by any statute of limitations. [cf. 1957 c. 27 s. 72 U.K.]

71. Revival of order for payment of costs
Whenever any judgment or order has been made for payment of costs in any action and such action afterwards becomes abated, it shall be lawful for any person interested under such judgment or order to revive such action, and thereupon to prosecute and enforce such judgment or order, and so from time to time as often as any such abatement may happen. 
[cf. 1870 c. 28 s. 19 U.K.]

### Legal Practitioners Ordinance 《法律執業者條例》

72A. Rules for barristers in Hong Kong
The Chief Justice may make rules in relation to the admission of persons who seek to qualify or have qualified as barristers in Hong Kong—
(a) regulating the enrolment of students seeking to become barristers in Hong Kong; 
(b) regulating the manner in which pupillage may be served, including applications for pupillage, disqualifications in respect of pupillage, approval and termination of pupillage and the period and requirements of pupillage; (Replaced 58 of 1976 s. 12) 
(ba) regulating the examinations to be passed by students seeking to become barristers in Hong Kong; (Added 58 of 1976 s. 12) 
(bb) prescribing the qualifying period of active practice for the purposes of section 31; (Added 58 of 1976 s. 12. Amended 42 of 2000 s. 15) 
(c) generally for the better control of such students. 
(Added 32 of 1972 s. 3)