Hong KongDisability Discrimination Ordinance, Goods, Services and Facilities
Disability Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 487), ss. 4, 6, 26, 27 and 72
In force since .
A disability discrimination rule binding public and private bodies.
- Private right of action
- Yes
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
- Obligation class
- Prohibition
As of .
What it requires
- The Ordinance names no technical standard for a website or app: the duty is the rule in section 26 against disability discrimination in providing goods, services or facilities, tested by the discrimination rules in section 6 and the unjustifiable hardship limit in sections 4 and 26(2).
- If you provide goods, services or facilities, whether for payment or not, do not refuse to provide them to a person with a disability, and do not provide them on worse terms or conditions or in a worse manner because of the disability (section 26(1)).
- Do not apply to a person with a disability a requirement or condition that considerably fewer persons with a disability than persons without a disability can comply with, that you cannot show to be justifiable irrespective of the disability, and that is to that person’s detriment (section 6(b)).
- The services section 26 reaches include banking or insurance facilities, entertainment and recreation facilities, transport and travel facilities and services, services relating to telecommunications and the services of any profession or trade (section 27).
- If you rely on unjustifiable hardship, it must arise from the provision itself and be judged on all relevant circumstances, including the reasonableness of any accommodation, the benefit or detriment to those concerned, the effect of the disability and your financial circumstances and the expenditure required (sections 4 and 26(2)).
- A claim in the District Court must be brought within 24 months, with the time a complaint spent with the Commission disregarded; the Court may hear a late claim where it considers that just and equitable (section 82(1), (2A), (3)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The Equal Opportunities Commission, which investigates a complaint and endeavours to settle it by conciliation (section 80).
Settledness
- As of
- Open questions
- Is a website or an app that a business offers to the public a "service or facility" provided within section 26(1) and the examples in section 27, and what level of accessibility does the duty require when the Ordinance names no technical standard?
What this law does
It is unlawful for a person who, whether for payment or not, provides goods, services or facilities to discriminate against another person with a disability by refusing to provide them, by the terms or conditions on which they are provided, or by the manner in which they are provided. Section 27 lists facilities by way of banking or insurance, services relating to telecommunications and the services of any profession or trade as examples of the services and facilities section 26 reaches.
The duty does not apply where providing the goods, services or facilities would impose unjustifiable hardship on the provider and, for facilities of the kinds listed in section 27(c) to (f) that are physical in nature, those facilities are designed or constructed so as to be inaccessible to a person with a disability.
Unjustifiable hardship is judged on all relevant circumstances, including the reasonableness of any accommodation, the benefit or detriment to those concerned, the effect of the disability and the provider’s financial circumstances. A person also discriminates by applying a requirement or condition that considerably fewer persons with a disability can comply with and that the person cannot show to be justifiable.
A claim of unlawful discrimination may be made the subject of civil proceedings in like manner as any other claim in tort. The District Court may order damages, including punitive or exemplary damages. A person may lodge a complaint with the Commission, which must investigate and endeavour to settle the matter by conciliation.
The District Court may not consider a claim unless proceedings are instituted within 24 months, but the time a complaint spent with the Commission is disregarded, and the Court may consider a late claim if it considers it just and equitable to do so. The Ordinance first commenced on , and its non-employment provisions, which include the rule on goods, services and facilities, came into effect on .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app ships a consumer interface.