52-532: High Court District Court Magistrates' Court Special courts and tribunals: Chief Executive Elections Legislative elections District council elections Consular missions in Hong Kong Hong Kong–China relations Hong Kong–Taiwan relations The Neo Democrats was a pro-democracy , localist political group in Hong Kong composed mainly of former and disenchanted members of
104-543: A barrister , advocate , solicitor or judicial officer in Hong Kong or another common law jurisdiction is eligible to be appointed as the Registrar or a Master. Full-time Judges and Recorders , as well as the Registrar and Masters, are appointed by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the independent Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC). Part-time Deputy Judges are appointed on
156-482: A Deputy High Court Judge and High Court Master, also sits as a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam. Recorders of the court of first instance of the high court are practitioners in private practice (in practice, Senior Counsel ) who are appointed for a fixed term of a few years and sit for a few weeks in a year. Recorders may exercise all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of
208-599: A Justice of Appeal in 2000. In 2019, Madam Justice Susan Kwan was the first woman to be appointed as Vice President of the Court of Appeal. The current full-time judges of the High Court (as at 9 August 2024) are (ranked according to the priority of their respective appointments; Senior Counsels indicated by an asterisk *): Chief Judge of the High Court Justices of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of
260-676: A case in a courtroom situated in the District Court building. This is similar to England , where the High Court sometimes sits outside London in County Courts which act as High Court District Registries. In the Jimmy Lai case, the prosecution asked the High Court for an adjournment from 1 December 2022 to 8 December 2022; the High Court added a few more days and adjourned it until 13 December 2022. On 13 December 2022,
312-716: A continuation of the United Democrats of Hong Kong , they chose to found the group on an anniversary of both the dissolution of UDHK and the foundation of the Democratic Party. Then on 19 December 2010, thirty members including seven district councillors in the New Territories East resigned from the Democratic Party to formally create the new group. The departees included former party vice-chairman Chan King-ming and at least five other founding members, together representing around ten per cent of
364-587: A daily rate of HK$ 11,765. The retirement age of full-time High Court Judges is 70. However, the term of office can be extended further up to the age of 75. The Chief Judge of the High Court is the Court Leader of the High Court and the President of the Court of Appeal. The Chief Judge is responsible for the administration of the High Court and is accountable to the Chief Justice , who is head of
416-519: A full-time Judge of the Court of First Instance receives a monthly salary of HK$ 292,650, while a Justice of Appeal receives a monthly salary of HK$ 307,050. The Chief Judge of the High Court receives a monthly salary of HK$ 340,600. Further, full-time Judges are provided with housing in Judiciary Quarters or, alternatively, a housing allowance at HK$ 163,525 per month. As of 1 April 2020, Recorders and Deputy High Court Judges receive honoraria at
468-461: A full-time Judge of the Court of First Instance. The recordership scheme was introduced in 1994 to encourage experienced practitioners who are willing to sit as a High Court Judge for a few weeks every year, but are not prepared to commit themselves to a permanent, full-time appointment. It was intended to act as a more formal system of appointment compared to the more ad hoc nature of appointment of Deputy High Court Judges. The current Recorders of
520-671: A grouping within the Democratic Party, opposed to its rejection of the Five Constituencies Referendum and concessions towards Beijing that the party was offering in the run-up to the LegCo vote on the Hong Kong government's proposals for democratic reform . It said it aimed to repair the damaged relationship between the Democratic Party and its pan-democratic allies. As the Neo Democrats styled themselves
572-453: A political party is acceptable). All High Court Judges (regardless of whether they are full-time Judges, Recorders or Deputy Judges on temporary appointment) are addressed in court as "My Lord" or "My Lady". In court judgments and decisions, Vice Presidents of the Court of Appeal are referred to as '[surname] VP' or '[surname] V-P' (or in the plural as '[surname] and [surname] V-PP'). Justices of Appeal are referred to as '[surname] JA' (or in
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#1732782832227624-551: A result, Kwan's ticket won only 1.24 per cent of the vote share and its sole legislator Gary Fan lost his re-election in New Territories East by winning 5.44 per cent of the vote share. Three Sha Tin District Councillors , Billy Chan Shiu-yeung, Chiu Chu-pong and Yau Man-chun, defected to former legislator Andrew Cheng during the election were expelled from the party on 6 September. Fan returned to
676-670: A retired High Court Judge, District Judge or magistrate as Chairman of the Appeal Board on Public Meetings and Processions (currently Mr Justice Pang Kin-kee ). In addition, it is a statutory requirement that the Chief Executive appoint a serving or retired High Court Judge or Deputy High Court Judge to chair the Market Misconduct Tribunal (MMT) and the Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal (SFAT). At present, Mr Justice Lunn (former Vice President of
728-558: A single Judge, though important cases may be heard by a bench consisting of more than one Judge, although this is very rare. This practice is similar to the English High Court , where important cases may be heard by a divisional court consisting of a three- or two-member bench. All judges of the Court of First Instance also serve as members of the Competition Tribunal. The President and Deputy President of
780-600: A temporary basis by the Chief Justice . It is not uncommon for a person to sit as a Recorder or Deputy High Court Judge prior to appointment as a full-time High Court Judge. Newly-appointed High Court judges with previous service as the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Department of Justice are subject to a 'sanitisation' period of 6 months upon appointment. During this period, the judge does not deal with any criminal trials or appeals or any civil cases involving
832-580: A total of 6 members, 12 district committee members, 12 appointed members, and two ex-officio members who are the Hang Hau and Sai Kung rural committee chairmen. The latest election was held on 10 December 2023 . The Sai Kung District Council was established on 1 April 1981 under the name of the Sai Kung District Board as the result of the colonial Governor Murray MacLehose 's District Administration Scheme reform. The District Board
884-779: Is a Sai Kung District Council member and was a Neo Democrat member in 2010, before the group formally split from the Democratic Party. Lam decided to remain in the Democratic Party until 2016, due to Neo Democrat is the largest pan-democrat party in Sai Kung District Council. In the 2016 Legislative Council election , the Neo Democrats initially planned to field candidates in Kowloon East , New Territories West , District Council (Second) , as well as seek for re-election in its incumbent New Territories East seat. It later decided to field two lists in New Territories East and District Council (Second) "super seat" despite
936-547: Is a statutory requirement that the Chief Executive appoint a serving or retired High Court judge to be Commissioner on Interception of Communications and Surveillance (currently Mr Justice Suffiad). The Chief Executive also appoints three to six Judges of the Court of First Instance (currently Mr Justice Fung , Mr Justice Bharwaney and Madam Justice Lisa Wong) on the recommendation of the Chief Justice to serve as panel judges handling interception and surveillance authorisation requests from law enforcement agencies. Further, it
988-498: Is a statutory requirement that the Chief Executive appoint at least 2 serving or retired High Court Judges as members of the Long-term Prison Sentences Review Board. At present, Mr Justice Pang Kin-kee and Mr Justice Wilson Chan are President and Deputy President respectively of the Long-term Prison Sentences Review Board. It is also a statutory requirement that the Chief Executive appoint
1040-563: Is a statutory requirement that the Electoral Affairs Commission be headed by a chairman who is a High Court judge (currently Mr Justice Lok) appointed by the Chief Executive in consultation with the Chief Justice . The Electoral Affairs Commission must appoint a Judge of the Court of Final Appeal or a High Court Judge to act as returning officer for elections for the Chief Executive of Hong Kong . Similarly, it
1092-722: The Democratic Party New Territories East branch after the 2012 constitutional reform proposals . It had held one seat in the Legislative Council until Gary Fan lost his re-election in the 2016 Legislative Council election . Fan won the seat back in the 2018 by-election , but lost his seat after a court declared that he was not duly elected. It held 8 seats in the District Councils before its dissolution on 26 June 2021. The Neo Democrats identified themselves initially as
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#17327828322271144-590: The Judiciary . The Chief Judge must be a Chinese citizen who is a Hong Kong permanent resident with no right of abode in any foreign country. The Judges who have held the position of Chief Judge of the High Court of Hong Kong to date are: For pre-1997 Chief Justices, see: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong Full-time High Court judges are given the prefix 'the Honourable' and referred to as 'Mr/Madam/Mrs Justice [surname]'. The Chief Judge of
1196-485: The constitutional reform proposal . In the 2019 election , the pro-democrats scored a landslide victory by taking 26 of the 29 seats in the council, with Neo Democrats becoming the largest party and Concern Group for Tseung Kwan O People's Livelihood (CGPLTKO) the second largest grouping. The pro-Beijing camp was almost completely wiped out from the council, except for the two ex-officio Rural Committee chairmen and three moderate councillors led by Christine Fong . In
1248-588: The 2023 District Council election, 6 of the 32 seats on the Sai Kung District Council are elected by elected members, 12 are elected by district committees, 12 appointed members, and 2 ex-officio members make up the current Sai Kung District In the Parliament, among the 32 seats, there are 14 independent members, 10 seats from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, 3 seats from
1300-595: The Competition Tribunal (currently Mr Justice Harris and Madam Justice Au-Yeung respectively) are appointed by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission. The President of the Lands Tribunal must be a High Court Judge (currently Madam Justice Lisa Wong) and is appointed by the Chief Executive . High Court judges also serve a number of other public service roles. It
1352-486: The Court of Appeal of Brunei Darussalam (Mr Justice Burrell, who is the President of the Brunei Court of Appeal, and Mr Justice Seagroatt and Mr Justice Lunn , who are Justices of Appeal); two retired Hong Kong High Court Judges sit as Judicial Commissioners of the High Court of Brunei Darussalam (Mr Justice Findlay and Mr Justice Lugar-Mawson). Another retired Hong Kong Judge, Edward Woolley, who previously sat as
1404-581: The Court of Appeal), Mr Justice Hartmann (former Justice of Appeal), Kenneth Kwok SC (former Recorder of the Court of First Instance) and Judge Tallentire (former Deputy High Court Judge) are Chairmen of the MMT and SFAT. The Chief Executive may appoint a High Court judge to lead a public inquiry. For example, Mr Justice Andrew Chan was appointed in 2015 as Chairman of the Inquiry into incidents of excess lead found in drinking water , and Mr Justice Lunn, JA
1456-497: The Court of First Instance of the High Court (as at 1 August 2024) are (ranked according to the priority of their respective appointments): The Chief Justice appoints on a temporary basis a number of serving full-time District Court Judges, retired High Court Judges and practitioners in private practice (in general, barristers who are Senior Counsel or solicitors who are senior partners with litigation experience) to sit as part-time Deputy High Court Judges. Before 1983,
1508-410: The Democratic Party's district councillors and just under five per cent of its membership. Members of the group include Gary Fan , Leung Li and Cheung Kwok-keung, and former Democratic Party vice-chairman Chan King-ming . The Neo Democrats' leadership comprises four convenors who serve six-month terms. Convenors currently include Gary Fan. The Neo Democrats represented by Gary Fan have called for
1560-783: The Federation of Trade Unions, 3 seats from the New People Party, 1 seat from the Liberal Party, and 1 seat from the Professional Dynamics. Among the 22 members, the pro-establishment camp holds 22 seats. Since 1982 political control of the council has been held by the following parties: Elections are held every four years. Since 1985,
1612-496: The Government to maintain judicial independence and impartiality. Upon appointment as a full-time High Court Judge, one must give an undertaking not to return to practise in future as a barrister or solicitor in Hong Kong. The remuneration of High Court Judges is determined by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the independent Standing Committee on Judicial Salaries and Conditions of Service. As of 1 April 2017,
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1664-487: The High Court Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court A Justice of Appeal may sit as an additional Judge of the Court of First Instance. A Judge of the Court of First Instance may also hear cases in the Court of Appeal, including as a single Judge (for example, when determining applications for leave to appeal in criminal cases). Cases in the Court of First Instance are usually heard by
1716-554: The High Court further delayed the trial until September 2023, until after the NPCSC ruled in the matter. Sai Kung District Council The Sai Kung District Council ( Chinese : 西貢區議會 ) is the district council for the Sai Kung District in Hong Kong . It is one of 18 such councils. The Sai Kung District Council currently consists of 32 members, of which the district is divided into three constituencies, electing
1768-422: The High Court may be referred to in writing by adding the post-nominal 'CJHC'. Vice Presidents of the Court of Appeal may be referred to in writing by adding the post-nominal 'VP'. Justices of Appeal may be referred to in writing by adding the post-nominal "JA". In 1995, Mrs Justice Doreen Le Pichon was the first woman to be appointed as a High Court judge. She subsequently became the first woman to be appointed as
1820-569: The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a part of the legal system of Hong Kong . It consists of the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance ; it deals with criminal and civil cases which have risen beyond the lower courts. It is a superior court of record of unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction . It was named the Supreme Court before 1997 . Though previously named
1872-708: The Legislative Council in the 2018 New Territories by-election following the disqualification of localist Baggio Leung of Youngspiration over the Legislative Council oath-taking controversy in March. He was elected with more than 180,000 votes, defeating the pro-China common candidate Tang Ka-piu of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) and the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB). He
1924-518: The Supreme Court, this Court has long been the local equivalent to the Senior Courts of England and Wales and has never been vested with the power of final adjudication. A person who has practised for at least 10 years as a barrister , advocate , solicitor or judicial officer in Hong Kong or another common law jurisdiction is eligible to be appointed as a High Court Judge or Recorder . A person who has practised for at least 5 years as
1976-426: The appointment system being reintroduced by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa . The current Sai Kung District Council was established on 1 January 2000 after the first District Council election in 1999. The appointed seats were abolished in 2015 after the modified constitutional reform proposal was passed by the Legislative Council in 2010. The Sai Kung District Council is one of the fastest growing councils due to
2028-409: The government to take back the approval rights on one-way permits from Chinese authorities and to reduce the quota of such permits for applicants not under the family reunion category. Fan also refers to immigrants from mainland China and the quota of 150 daily permits as "the root of the housing problem". In September 2013, Gary Fan co-sponsored a controversial ad which claimed that cutting people from
2080-440: The group's breakaway from the Democratic Party due to its opposition to the creation of the five "super seats" in 2010. Kwan Wing-yip, Neo Democrats' District Council (Second) candidate, refused to join the pan-democracy camp's coordination plan initiated by Benny Tai to avoid splitting the pro-democracy votes, abandoned his campaign one day before the election due to the pressure to help the pan-democracy camp to win three seats. As
2132-592: The largest party in the council. The pro-Beijing Civil Force which has been in alliance with the New People's Party also has substantial presence in the district. The pro-democracy camp in the district was represented by the Democratic Party , until it lost half of its seats after the reformist faction led by Gary Fan quit the party and formed the Neo Democrats in 2010 over the disagreement on
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2184-455: The past two years and the political environment now was much worse than before, and most of its district councillors agreed to dissolve the party. Former Neo Democrat members Gary Fan, Roy Tam and Ben Chung are among 47 pro-democracy figures charged with subversion for taking part in the camp's primaries for Legco elections last year. The three have been remanded in custody since late February. High Court of Hong Kong The High Court of
2236-439: The plural as '[surname] and [surname] JJA'). Full-time Judges of the Court of First Instance are referred to as '[surname] J' (or in the plural as '[surname] and [surname] JJ'). Recorders are referred to as 'Mr/Madam/Mrs Recorder [surname]' (with the post-nominal 'SC' if they are Senior Counsel ). Deputy High Court Judges are referred to either as 'Deputy Judge [surname]', 'Deputy High Court Judge [surname]' or 'DHCJ [surname]' (with
2288-446: The position of Deputy High Court Judge was known as Commissioner . A Deputy High Court Judge may exercise all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of a full-time Judge of the Court of First Instance. Judicial review cases are not listed before part-time Judges. In order to ensure judicial independence and impartiality, part-time Judges are not permitted to participate actively in political activities (although membership of
2340-438: The post-nominal 'SC' if they are Senior Counsel ). Deputy High Court Judges were previously called Commissioners and were referred to as 'Mr/Madam/Mrs Commissioner [surname]' (with the post-nominal 'Q.C.' if they were Queen's Counsel ) in judgments before 1983. The High Court Building is located at 38 Queensway , Admiralty . The 20-storey building was built in 1985 as the home of the then Supreme Court of Hong Kong , which
2392-498: The rapid development of Tseung Kwan O new town in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Traditionally dominated by the rural forces, different political parties also established its presence in the urban area in the 1990s. The pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) doubled their seats from four to eight after absorbed the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance (HKPA) in 2005 and became
2444-487: The source of immigration would help the people of Hong Kong to get to the bottom of the housing problem, while rejecting claims of bias or discrimination against mainlanders, despite condemnation from the Equal Opportunities Commission . Fan later introduced a motion on adhering to the need to "put Hong Kong people first" in formulating policies, but the motion was ultimately defeated. Fan's motion
2496-615: Was appointed in 2012 as Chairman of the Inquiry into the collision of vessels near Lamma Island . A number of serving and retired Hong Kong High Court Judges also sit as Supreme Court Judges in Brunei . For example, while Mr Justice Rogers served as Vice President of the Hong Kong Court of Appeal, he also sat as a non-resident Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam between 2010 and 2011. As of 2019, three retired Hong Kong High Court Judges sit as Judges of
2548-472: Was partly elected with the ex-officio Regional Council members and chairmen of two Rural Committees, Hang Hau and Sai Kung, as well as members appointed by the Governor until 1994 when last Governor Chris Patten refrained from appointing any member. The Sai Kung District Board became Sai Kung Provisional District Board after the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) was established in 1997 with
2600-465: Was rejected by both camps of pro-Beijing and pan-democrats. In the 2015 District Council election , Neo Democrats became the best performers when 15 out of their 16 candidates fielded won, the total number of seats having increased from 7 to 15 since the previous election. They became one of the most successful groups within the pan-democrats camp. Frankie Lam returned to Neo Democrat in April 2016. He
2652-506: Was renamed in 1997. It was named the Supreme Court Building, and the road leading to its main entrance is still named Supreme Court Road . The High Court Building was designed by Architect K. M. Tseng. The structure is a white clad tower and has a water fountain outside its front door. Sometimes, the High Court may sit in another venue. For example, a serving District Judge sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge may hear
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#17327828322272704-472: Was then removed from the Legislative Council after the Court of Final Appeal declined to hear an appeal from a lower court which held that he was not duly elected as the Returning Officer for the election disqualified another candidate who was not given an opportunity to respond. The Neo Democrats announced the disbandment on 26 June 2021. The group said Hong Kong had undergone drastic changes over
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