Hong Kong · civil procedure
What period applies to cfi ordinary defence deadline?
28 days after the later source anchor. Serve the defence on every other affected party. The later independently calculated pleading endpoint controls; August omission remains material.
- Period
- 28 days after the later source anchor
- Trigger
- Both acknowledgment-period expiry and effective statement-of-claim service
- Rule
- Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 2(1)
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 cfi ordinary defence deadline?
28 days after the later source anchor. Serve the defence on every other affected party. The later independently calculated pleading endpoint controls; August omission remains material.
Responsible actor. Defendant who gave notice of intention to defend.
Both acknowledgment-period expiry and effective statement-of-claim service
28 days after the later source anchor
Defendant who gave notice of intention to defend. Both actual anchors retained; Notice of intention to defend; No Order 14 or 86 summons branch; No Order 12 rule 8 jurisdiction branch; No different court period. Summary-judgment leave and unsuccessful jurisdiction applications supply different events under Order 18 rule 2(2) and (3).
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 2(1)How does this provision count time?
- Serve the defence on every other affected party
- Defendant who gave notice of intention to defend uses the established both acknowledgment-period expiry and effective statement-of-claim service. 28 days after the later source anchor. Exclude the effective event day. Ordinary intervening weekends remain counted unless an applicable source provision excludes them. High Court Ordinance (Cap. 4), section 31(1), omits Summer Vacation for the applicable civil procedural period not exceeding one month unless the Court directs otherwise. Order 64 rule 1 supplies August 1 through August 31. Order 3 rule 3 separately covers pleading periods.
- Serve the defence on every other affected party. An office calendar does not automatically change this service, deemed-event, minimum-interval or status boundary. The source and the actual completion route control. The later independently calculated pleading endpoint controls; August omission remains material.
- The later independently calculated pleading endpoint controls; August omission remains material.
Defendant who gave notice of intention to defend uses the established both acknowledgment-period expiry and effective statement-of-claim service. 28 days after the later source anchor. Exclude the effective event day. Ordinary intervening weekends remain counted unless an applicable source provision excludes them. High Court Ordinance (Cap. 4), section 31(1), omits Summer Vacation for the applicable civil procedural period not exceeding one month unless the Court directs otherwise. Order 64 rule 1 supplies August 1 through August 31. Order 3 rule 3 separately covers pleading periods.
Serve the defence on every other affected party. An office calendar does not automatically change this service, deemed-event, minimum-interval or status boundary. The source and the actual completion route control. The later independently calculated pleading endpoint controls; August omission remains material.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 2(1)What do independently checked examples show?
Fictitious example
Defendant who gave notice of intention to defend. Both acknowledgment-period expiry and effective statement-of-claim service occurs on Friday, October 9, 2026. The retained eligibility and ordinary procedural conditions apply. Acknowledgment Period Expiry Friday, October 9, 2026. Statement Of Claim Served Monday, October 12, 2026.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Example 1. Ordinary established facts | Defendant who gave notice of intention to defend. Both acknowledgment-period expiry and effective statement-of-claim service occurs on Friday, October 9, 2026. The retained eligibility and ordinary procedural conditions apply. Acknowledgment Period Expiry Friday, October 9, 2026. Statement Of Claim Served Monday, October 12, 2026. 28 days after the later source anchor. The later independently calculated pleading endpoint controls; August omission remains material. | Monday, November 9, 2026 |
| Example 2. Closed-day boundary | Defendant who gave notice of intention to defend. Both acknowledgment-period expiry and effective statement-of-claim service occurs on Monday, September 21, 2026. The retained eligibility and ordinary procedural conditions apply. Acknowledgment Period Expiry Monday, September 21, 2026. Statement Of Claim Served Thursday, September 24, 2026. 28 days after the later source anchor. The later independently calculated pleading endpoint controls; August omission remains material. | Thursday, October 22, 2026 |
| Example 3. Material procedural branch | Defendant who gave notice of intention to defend. Both acknowledgment-period expiry and effective statement-of-claim service occurs on Friday, October 9, 2026. The complete eligibility and procedural facts are not established. Acknowledgment Period Expiry not established. Statement Of Claim Served not established. This actual branch must be established independently before any ordinary endpoint can be used. Both actual anchors retained | Summary-judgment leave and unsuccessful jurisdiction applications supply different events under Order 18 rule 2(2) and (3). |
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?
- Both actual anchors retained
- Both actual anchors retained
- Notice of intention to defend
- Notice of intention to defend
- No Order 14 or 86 summons branch
- No Order 14 or 86 summons branch
- No Order 12 rule 8 jurisdiction branch
- No Order 12 rule 8 jurisdiction branch
- No different court period
- No different court period
- Correct source counting and completion route
- Defendant who gave notice of intention to defend uses the established both acknowledgment-period expiry and effective statement-of-claim service. 28 days after the later source anchor. Exclude the effective event day. Ordinary intervening weekends remain counted unless an applicable source provision excludes them. High Court Ordinance (Cap. 4), section 31(1), omits Summer Vacation for the applicable civil procedural period not exceeding one month unless the Court directs otherwise. Order 64 rule 1 supplies August 1 through August 31. Order 3 rule 3 separately covers pleading periods. Serve the defence on every other affected party. An office calendar does not automatically change this service, deemed-event, minimum-interval or status boundary. The source and the actual completion route control. The later independently calculated pleading endpoint controls; August omission remains material.
- Defendant who gave notice of intention to defend. Both actual anchors retained; Notice of intention to defend; No Order 14 or 86 summons branch; No Order 12 rule 8 jurisdiction branch; No different court period. Summary-judgment leave and unsuccessful jurisdiction applications supply different events under Order 18 rule 2(2) and (3).
- Summary-judgment leave and unsuccessful jurisdiction applications supply different events under Order 18 rule 2(2) and (3).
What must the responsible actor complete?
Questions about this procedure
What period applies to cfi ordinary defence deadline?
Can defence time run only from statement-of-claim service?
Not necessarily. Order 18 rule 2(1) compares statement service with expiry of the time limited for acknowledging service.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 2(1)Does early acknowledgment shorten defence time?
The rule uses the time limited for acknowledgment, not the date of an early acknowledgment.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 2(1)Who receives the defence?
Every other party to the action who may be affected by the defence must be served.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 2(1)What happens after a summary-judgment summons?
The ordinary rule is displaced unless leave to defend is granted. Rule 2(2) then uses the leave order or its specified period.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 2(1)Can the ordinary calculation ignore August?
No. This is High Court pleading service. Order 3 rule 3 omits Summer Vacation unless the Court directs otherwise.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 2(1)Must both controlling facts be retained?
Yes. A single selected date cannot independently establish which of the two statutory anchors is later.
Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 2(1)Official sources and review
Provisions used (5)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A), Order 18, rule 2(1) | 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 |