Hong Kong courts clarify personal data concerns in civil litigation

In a series of cases in Hong Kong in the last year or so, the courts have brought some welcome clarification to the vexed issue of the interaction between disclosure of relevant documents in civil disputes and balancing competing confidentiality and personal data concerns arising out of the contents of such documents.

While it is clear that the courts in Hong Kong will normally come down in favour of ensuring that all relevant materials in a civil dispute are disclosed, they can (in certain circumstances) do so in such a way as to limit access to confidential information and/or the purpose for which documents disclosed are used.