PRACTICE DIRECTION – 23.1
WARDS OF COURT
1. Pursuant to section 26(2) of the High Court Ordinance (Cap 4), a minor shall become a ward of court on the making of the application for such an order.
2. Every originating summons by which application is made to make a minor a ward of court shall contain the following endorsement:
“IMPORTANT NOTICE: It is a contempt of Court, which may be punished by imprisonment, to take any minor named in this summons out of Hong Kong, without the leave of the Court.”
3. Practitioners are reminded that, where there are grounds for believing that an unauthorised removal of a ward from the jurisdiction is likely to occur, the Immigration Department will be prepared, on request, to try to prevent such a removal by alerting its staff at various boundary control points. Solicitors who wish to take advantage of this facility should produce to the Immigration Department:
(a) where there is an order making the minor a ward of court, a sealed copy of that order, or
(b) in cases of urgency after the commencement of proceedings but before any order for wardship is made, the Memorandum Confirming Wardship as at the Annex signed by the Duty Judge, the Registrar or the Deputy Registrar of the High Court together with a sealed copy of the originating summons.
4. Application for the issue of the Memorandum as referred to in paragraph 3(b) above may be made ex parte to the Duty Judge, the Registrar, or the Deputy Registrar of the High Court. In any event, a sealed copy of any order should be produced to the Immigration Department as soon as possible after it is made.
5. Where a minor, having become a ward of court by virtue of section 26 of the High Court Ordinance (Cap 4), ceases to be a ward of court by the operation of Order 90, Rule 4 of the Rules of the High Court (Cap 4A), practitioners must advise the Immigration Department forthwith in cases where the Department has already been advised of the application.
6. This Practice Direction supersedes the previous version of Practice Direction 23.1 on Wards of Court and shall take effect on 14 July 2021.
Date: 28 June 2021
| (Bebe Chu) | |
| Judge in Charge of Family Cases |
Form of Memorandum Confirming Wardship
(Title as in originating summons)
Memorandum Confirming Wardship
TAKE NOTICE that the minor named in this Memorandum is a Ward of Court and should not be allowed to leave the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region without a specific order to that effect which order should be produced to the appropriate immigration officer.
There is no reason to believe at the date of this Memorandum that any such order has been made.
The minor referred to is (full English and Chinese name(s) (if any)), [a boy] [a girl], born on (date), and is identified by the following documents:
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Type of Document |
Name on Document (State the English and Chinese name(s) (if any) in full as appear on the document) |
Document No. |
Issuing Country/ Authority |
Expiry Date |
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Birth Certificate |
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Hong Kong Identity Card |
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Passport(s) or other travel document(s) (including Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong & Macau Residents and Taiwan Entry Permit) |
(1) |
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(2) |
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(3) |
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(4) |
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[The minor is residing with (full English and Chinese name(s) (if any))of (Hong Kong Identity Card or Travel Document(s) (if any)), at (full address if available)]* .
*This paragraph is to be deleted if not applicable
Date :
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Duty Judge / Registrar / Deputy Registrar |
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| High Court |
| To: | (Name), the Defendant |
| (Address) | |
| And | |
| Director of Immigration | |
| (Address) |