The monetary jurisdiction for civil cases heard by Hong Kong's busy District Court was significantly increased in December 2018. In light of this, the District Court now determines more complex and important civil cases. Therefore, a good case can be made for the abolition of the so-called 'Two-Thirds Rule'. If this is a step too far, a legislative provision should be implemented that provides judges with a wide and flexible discretion to depart from the rule where appropriate in all the circumstances.

The Supreme Court recently ruled in a case concerning two elements of international law: state immunity from enforcement and declarations of enforceability. This ruling is significant because it states that the only precedent on the topic of enforcement immunity is a 2005 decision and because it applies the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property, which is not yet in force. The ruling is also significant with regard to its interpretation of an 'enforceability declaration'.

​In a recent case, the Court of Appeal held that an oral contract for a specified introduction fee payable to an agent if a property sold at a particular price did not prevent the agent from being remunerated when that property was sold for a lesser sum (despite the contract being silent on the matter). However, the sum awarded by the court was significantly lower than the introduction fee specified in the contract.