1. What must the plaintiff do before the defendant can acknowledge service?

1. What must the plaintiff do before the defendant can acknowledge service? 

When a plaintiff serves a writ or originating summons, the plaintiff must also serve the prescribed Acknowledgment of Service (“AoS”) form with it. This follows from Order 10, rules 1(6) and 5 of the Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A) (“RHC”) or the Rules of the District Court (Cap. 336H)vv (“RDC”).  

The form should already contain the correct title of the action and the action number so that it matches the originating process exactly. In addition, the plaintiff must amend paragraph 2 of the Notes for Guidance on the form to specify the applicable time limit for returning the AoS (e.g., 14 days for service within Hong Kong, or the timeframe ordered by the court for service outside the jurisdiction). At the time of issuing the originating process, the plaintiff must prepare a sufficient number of copies for each named defendant, with the Registry requiring 3 completed copies. 

If the plaintiff fails to include the prescribed AoS form, that omission is generally treated as an irregularity rather than making the proceedings invalid. Under Order 2, rule 1 of the RHC or RDC, the court may cure the defect if no injustice or prejudice has been caused to the defendant.