7. Does acknowledging service mean the defendant accepts the court’s jurisdiction?
Not necessarily. Under Order 12, rule 8 of the Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A) or the Rules of the District Court (Cap. 336H), a defendant may acknowledge service without waiving objections to the writ, the service of the writ, or an order granting leave to serve out of the jurisdiction.
If the defendant wishes to dispute jurisdiction, for example by arguing that Hong Kong is not the proper forum, that service out should be set aside, or that there is an exclusive jurisdiction clause in favour of another court, the defendant should still indicate an intention to defend in the Acknowledgment of Service (“AoS”). The defendant must then issue a summons supported by affidavit evidence within the time limited for serving the defence. If the defendant fails to issue the summons within the required timeframe, the AoS will be treated as an unconditional submission to the court's jurisdiction.
If the defendant takes this step solely for the purpose of challenging jurisdiction, the AoS will not amount to submission to the Hong Kong court. But if the defendant acknowledges service and then does not make the jurisdiction challenge in time, the acknowledgment may be treated as an unconditional submission to the court’s jurisdiction.
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