The principal aim of this book is to provide practitioners with a clear and up to date exposition of the rules and judicial decisions governing the conduct of civil litigation in Hong Kong. The Civil Justice Reform has now been effective for more than 5 years and there are many judicial decisions reflecting judicial approaches and attitudes to the implementation of the new rules. The jury is, however, still out as to whether the Reforms have significantly achieved their objectives. The authors have chronicled these developments by reference to the considerable amount of case law on the new rules and practice directions. The fifth edition includes the most significant new cases affecting both the new rules and rules unaffected by the Reforms. In fact, there is a considerable body of important decisions continuously emanating from the courts which renders the task of the civil litigation practitioner ever more demanding.