Duxbury etc is the first reference work to be published freely by family lawyers for the public to provide essential information and legal materials for those involved in legal disputes. It is a public interest project aimed at increasing access to justice. Published in English and Chinese, it is unique. It introduces a number of entirely new materials to Hong Kong: Duxbury Tables (allowing easier calculation of lump sum payments, tailored for Hong Kong’s own economic conditions), a Family Law Glossary (explaining the sometimes archaic lexicon of the family courts), summaries of the essential concepts (introducing the fundamental structure of each of the main areas of family law: divorce, children and money), a list of essential statutes, leading cases and much more. Wherever possible, freely available Internet-based resources are hyperlinked in the text (including case law and statutes). It covers the gamut of family law: public and private family law disputes, children, domestic violence, divorce, ancillary relief, and marriage.

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Family law is in the midst of a revolution in Hong Kong that began in 2010 with LKW v DD (2010) 13 HKCFAR 537 and PD v KWW (Joint Custody, Care and Control) [2010] 4 HKLRD 191, when certain outdated notions of inequality between men and women in ancillary relief and child custody matters were ousted. It continued with W v Registrar of Marriages (2013) 16 HKCFAR 112, which redefined the role of women in marriage and the definition of gender itself, and Director of Immigration v QT [2018] 4 HKC 403, which extended equality protections to same-sex couples in marriages and civil partnerships celebrated overseas. In 2021, the High Court ordered that a non-biological parent of a child born by his/her former same-sex partner should be granted guardianship rights, joint custody and shared care over his/her children: LS v KG [2021] HKCFI 1401. All of this, against a backdrop of Hong Kong fast becoming the divorce capital of Asia (see e.g. JQ v CLH [2021] HKFC 105).

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These kinds of changes were unthinkable at the Handover but despite the almost complete lack of legislative reform, they are now regular events. What has changed? Not just the law but the law’s understanding of our families and society. In this new environment, there is no better time for a publication like this to assist the public in keeping up to date. This publication will be annually updated and we encourage our readers to come directly to us with suggestions for improvement. We will, of course, do our best to keep Duxbury Etc up to date with the ‘revolution’ and firmly hope this will both help to resolve disputes quickly and improve the quality submissions before the courts.

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The book is available in English and Traditional Chinese.

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If you like Duxbury Etc and wish to make a donation to cover the costs of this public interest project, please donate via PayPal. ​ ​ ​ Donations allow us to keep publishing every year.