Post-1997 Hong Kong has seen the Chinese language gaining dominance over English in lower court proceedings. However most influential judgements delivered by the higher courts are still written in English. Hence the need for translation, but this is easier said than done, because a bilingual common law language is not yet in place. In addition, most English-Chinese law dictionaries devote themselves to word meanings. They shed no light on the legal rules or principles which are usually represented by sentences or whole paragraphs of highly-condensed legal concepts. Since judicial decisions by higher courts carry weight, legal rules, principles as spelt out in precedent cases, will be cited many times in legal arguments, and this means certain lines or paragraphs in precedent judgments will appear in subsequent judgments where they are applied or distinguished. Their frequent repetitions make it worthwhile to design an English-Chinese dictionary for law translators or court users.