Hong Kong · civil procedure
What period applies to pleadings close after defence?
28 days after defence service. Identify deemed closure of pleadings. Deemed closure can occur despite outstanding particulars.
- Period
- 28 days after defence service
- Trigger
- Effective service of the defence
- Rule
- Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 20(1)(b)
Official verified English consolidated chapter 4A, version October 1,2025. Acquired October 9, 2026, with the official current register and immutable verified PDF. Current verified official English consolidated chapter PDFs acquired October 9, 2026. Version dates retained per chapter register. No claim that a calendar proves future gale, black-rainstorm or emergency office closures.
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What period applies to pleadings close after defence?
28 days after defence service. Identify deemed closure of pleadings. Deemed closure can occur despite outstanding particulars.
Responsible actor. Parties with neither reply nor defence to counterclaim served.
Effective service of the defence
28 days after defence service
Parties with neither reply nor defence to counterclaim served. Neither reply nor counterclaim defence served; Complete service history; No different procedural order; Ordinary status branch does not cross an unresolved summer procedural-act/status interaction. Service of a qualifying reply or counterclaim defence changes the branch to fourteen days under rule 20(1)(a).
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 20(1)(b)How does this provision count time?
- Identify deemed closure of pleadings
- Parties with neither reply nor defence to counterclaim served uses the established effective service of the defence. 28 days after defence service. Exclude the effective event day. Ordinary intervening weekends remain counted unless an applicable source provision excludes them. The ordinary illustration avoids an unresolved interaction between summer omission for procedural acts and the separate status boundary.
- Identify deemed closure of pleadings. An office calendar does not automatically change this service, deemed-event, minimum-interval or status boundary. The source and the actual completion route control. Deemed closure can occur despite outstanding particulars.
- Deemed closure can occur despite outstanding particulars.
Parties with neither reply nor defence to counterclaim served uses the established effective service of the defence. 28 days after defence service. Exclude the effective event day. Ordinary intervening weekends remain counted unless an applicable source provision excludes them. The ordinary illustration avoids an unresolved interaction between summer omission for procedural acts and the separate status boundary.
Identify deemed closure of pleadings. An office calendar does not automatically change this service, deemed-event, minimum-interval or status boundary. The source and the actual completion route control. Deemed closure can occur despite outstanding particulars.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 20(1)(b)What do independently checked examples show?
Fictitious example
Parties with neither reply nor defence to counterclaim served. Effective service of the defence occurs on Friday, October 9, 2026. The retained eligibility and ordinary procedural conditions apply. Ordinary Branch Does Not Cross Summer Vacation true.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Example 1. Ordinary established facts | Parties with neither reply nor defence to counterclaim served. Effective service of the defence occurs on Friday, October 9, 2026. The retained eligibility and ordinary procedural conditions apply. Ordinary Branch Does Not Cross Summer Vacation true. 28 days after defence service. Deemed closure can occur despite outstanding particulars. | Friday, November 6, 2026 |
| Example 2. Closed-day boundary | Parties with neither reply nor defence to counterclaim served. Effective service of the defence occurs on Monday, September 21, 2026. The retained eligibility and ordinary procedural conditions apply. Ordinary Branch Does Not Cross Summer Vacation true. 28 days after defence service. Deemed closure can occur despite outstanding particulars. | Monday, October 19, 2026 |
| Example 3. Material procedural branch | Parties with neither reply nor defence to counterclaim served. Effective service of the defence occurs on Friday, October 9, 2026. The complete eligibility and procedural facts are not established. Ordinary Branch Does Not Cross Summer Vacation not established. This actual branch must be established independently before any ordinary endpoint can be used. Neither reply nor counterclaim defence served | Service of a qualifying reply or counterclaim defence changes the branch to fourteen days under rule 20(1)(a). |
Fictitious established facts. These examples do not establish eligibility, effective service, relief or a direction.
Try these dates in the calculatorWhich conditions and exceptions apply?
- Neither reply nor counterclaim defence served
- Neither reply nor counterclaim defence served
- Complete service history
- Complete service history
- No different procedural order
- No different procedural order
- Ordinary status branch does not cross an unresolved summer procedural-act/status interaction
- Ordinary status branch does not cross an unresolved summer procedural-act/status interaction
- Correct source counting and completion route
- Parties with neither reply nor defence to counterclaim served uses the established effective service of the defence. 28 days after defence service. Exclude the effective event day. Ordinary intervening weekends remain counted unless an applicable source provision excludes them. The ordinary illustration avoids an unresolved interaction between summer omission for procedural acts and the separate status boundary. Identify deemed closure of pleadings. An office calendar does not automatically change this service, deemed-event, minimum-interval or status boundary. The source and the actual completion route control. Deemed closure can occur despite outstanding particulars.
- Parties with neither reply nor defence to counterclaim served. Neither reply nor counterclaim defence served; Complete service history; No different procedural order; Ordinary status branch does not cross an unresolved summer procedural-act/status interaction. Service of a qualifying reply or counterclaim defence changes the branch to fourteen days under rule 20(1)(a).
- Service of a qualifying reply or counterclaim defence changes the branch to fourteen days under rule 20(1)(a).
What must the responsible actor complete?
Questions about this procedure
What period applies to pleadings close after defence?
When does the twenty-eight-day closure branch apply?
Only if neither a reply nor defence to counterclaim is served, under Order 18 rule 20(1)(b).
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 20(1)(b)Does defence filing start deemed closure?
The rule identifies service of the defence. Filing and service are different events.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 20(1)(b)Can a later reply be ignored?
No. The complete pleading history determines whether paragraph (a) rather than paragraph (b) applies.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 20(1)(b)Do unanswered particulars delay closure?
No. Rule 20(2) expressly preserves deemed closure despite an outstanding request or order.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 20(1)(b)Is this another deadline to serve a defence?
No. It identifies a legal status after defence service, not the original defence completion date.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 20(1)(b)Can one closure date be assumed for every party?
Check the parties’ actual pleading relationships before using closure to start pairwise automatic discovery.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 20(1)(b)Official sources and review
Provisions used (5)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 20(1)(b) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Rules of the High Court (Cap.4A), Order3 rules1–5 and Order64 rule1 | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| High Court Ordinance (Cap.4), section31(1), including its endorsed-writ proviso | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap.1), section71(1)–(2) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| General Holidays Ordinance (Cap.149), section3 and Schedule | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |