3. If I am the plaintiff or the defendant in a defamation lawsuit but I do not have the money to hire a lawyer, can I get some free legal assistance from the Government?

The "Legal Aid Scheme" (run by the Legal Aid Department of the HKSAR Government) does not cover defamation cases.

However, you may try to obtain some preliminary legal advice from the "Free Legal Advice Scheme" (run by the Duty Lawyer Service). You may also seek assistance from the "Bar Free Legal Service Scheme" (provided by the Hong Kong Bar Association). For more information regarding these two schemes, please go to another topic – Legal Aid .