Harsh government test denying needy legal aid, Bar Association says

The Legal Aid Department has been using an erroneously harsh test to vet applications for civil legal aid and created wrongly for itself a discretionary power to decide when to grant funding, the Bar Association says.

The errors raise a question of whether the department has set the bar higher than stated by law, effectively denying the poor access to justice because they cannot afford it.

In its criticism, the association cited the case of Chung Yuk-ying, who had a hard time getting financial help to claim compensation for injuries she suffered while delivering documents.

It challenged the department's interpretation of a merits test under the Legal Aid Ordinance, which states an applicant should show "reasonable grounds" for taking or defending a civil action.

By reasonable grounds, the department requires the applicant's case to have "reasonable prospects of success", meaning, as it has argued in court, a "more than even chance of success".

The association said the threshold could be lower.