Barrister Vivien Chan is appealing a disciplinary finding that resulted in a HK$40,000 fine, a reprimand and an order to pay procedural costs, arguing that the case did not establish she personally authored material posted from a Facebook account bearing her name. The appeal was heard in the High Court on 24 September 2026.
The barristers’ disciplinary tribunal found two complaints established in 2024 and imposed the sanctions. The complaints concerned activity on the account between 7 October 2019 and 25 June 2020, including Chan’s sharing in 2020 of a 2013 magazine column that contained allegations about a former chief justice’s conduct in a case.
The proceedings concerned the Hong Kong Bar Association’s conduct rule requiring barristers to avoid behaviour that could bring the profession into disrepute, weaken public confidence in the profession or damage confidence in the fair administration of justice. Other disputed material reportedly included criticism of judges and protesters.
Chan’s lawyers said the account was a family account managed by six or seven people. They argued that the Hong Kong Bar Association had not proved Chan published the posts, and that the tribunal made an unjustified inferential leap when it concluded that she was the author. The Hong Kong Bar Association’s executive committee, which is opposing the appeal, said the tribunal had dealt with the relevant evidence and that Chan’s side had not read the tribunal’s reasons coherently.
Chan has advanced 25 grounds of appeal, which the deputy chief judge said amounted to a challenge to the Hong Kong Bar Association’s decision as a whole.
The judge also questioned why a fine had been imposed, saying that approach might not be correct in principle. She warned that if Chan failed to co-operate and caused an adjournment, she could face an adverse costs order. The High Court is expected to deliver judgment within three months of the hearing.