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The ESG Litigation Guide provides detailed analysis of chosen European and international ESG litigation cases, both decided and pending. It includes details on the claims raised by the parties, the relevant legislation, public statements by interested parties, as well as links to judgements and press reports.
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The litigation landscape in Hong Kong has shown a steady stream of cases in the field of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) over the past few years. A key trait of this jurisdiction is that there is no class / collective action procedure, as such the ability for stakeholders to join forces and bring large-scale ESG proceedings is rare in Hong Kong. That said, the main drivers of the recent wave of ESG litigation are civil rights, refugee rights and judicial review of administrative powers, with town planning and land use as particular points of focus. Of partiicular note are a number of cases concerning social welfare rights of same-sex couples in Hong Kong, which show slow but steady improvement in the city’s effort in recognizing the rights of the LGBTQ community. With respect to corporate litigation, we expect that growing regulations on ESG and greenwashing from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and various other regulators will increase regulatory action on investment-related ESG issues. Lastly, as an international trading hub, Hong Kong entities' extensive dealings with EU and US entities and regulators may bring increased exposure to proceedings in relation to sanctions and/or mandatory ESG disclosure requirements.