The fortnight to 2 September 2026 was about process as much as outcome. The Court of Appeal told environmental decision-makers that extra material slipped in after public consultation can reopen fairness. National law made Greater Bay Area practice a standing route, not a pilot with an expiry date. And the Lands Tribunal reminded majority owners that compulsory-sale appeals are not a second expert trial.

From the courts

In Hong Kong Golf Club v Director of Environmental Protection, the Court of Appeal dismissed the government’s appeals over the Fanling Old Course environmental impact assessment. Fairness required further consultation on additional hydrological material that should have been in the report; ignoring the club’s response was unreasonable; and approval conditions could not force a substantial redesign. Planning teams should log what the public actually saw, what arrived later, and whether those later comments were considered.

In Success Bravo Ltd v The China Hong Nin Life Insurance Co Ltd, the Lands Tribunal refused leave to appeal a dismissed compulsory-sale application for Bonny View House. It had not invented a new “market reality” test, did not require both cost and existing-use-value ratios, and applied the Intelligent House guidelines. Leave still needs a point of law with a realistic prospect of success.

The Court of Appeal in 婁愛琴 v Director of Lands refused leave to the Court of Final Appeal on a squatter-numbering challenge, repeating that deletion of a squatter number is a land-administration decision. Over-length written submissions were ignored. CFA leave remains a filter, not a third hearing.

Dinh Van Manh v Torture Claims Appeal Board is a practice reminder for judicial-review leave: fail to attend a requested oral hearing, or fail to keep an address for notices, and the court may decide the application on paper. Once the Board has decided an appeal, the Director’s decision is not a separate target. Anxious scrutiny does not convert review into a merits appeal.

Around the profession

The Department of Justice welcomed amendments putting the Greater Bay Area lawyers scheme into the national Lawyers Law from 1 September, covering specified civil and commercial work in nine Guangdong cities.

The South China Morning Post reports that the Fanling housing timetable is now in doubt pending any further appeal. Hong Kong Lawyer frames the Northern Metropolis Bill as “law as strategic infrastructure.”

And the High Court’s incitement-to-subversion convictions of the Hong Kong Alliance and two former leaders will turn next on the sentencing band.

Open the judgments on Common Laws, then follow the original news reports for context. The round-up is for professional awareness, not advice on any live matter.

Image: Magnet larry / Wikimedia Commons