57-560: The Wan Chai District Council is the district council for the Wan Chai District in Hong Kong . It is one of 18 such councils. The Wan Chai District Council currently consists of 10 members, of which the district is divided into one constituency, electing a total of 2 members, 4 district committee members, and 4 appointed members. The latest election was held on 10 December 2023 . The predecessor of Wan Chai District Council
114-600: 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
171-482: 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
228-599: 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
285-676: 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,
342-587: 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
399-519: 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
456-461: 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
513-453: 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
570-541: A proportion of each was elected. In an attempt to inject a democratic element into the Legislative Council, the government introduced a model where some legislators were elected indirectly by members of the district councils. Twelve legislators were returned by an 'electoral college' of district councillors in 1985. The practice was repeated in 1988 and 1995. After the HKSAR was established in 1997, as part of
627-670: 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
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#1732788090158684-580: A rubber-stamp, and a clear sign that councils lacked independence. Li recalled a similar government "consultation" on universal suffrage in 2007, in which two-thirds of the councils passed a vote in support of its position. After it was revealed that the government was behind the concerted district councils' motions in 2008 supporting the relocation of Queen's Pier, Albert Ho condemned the government for tampering with district councils to "create public opinion", and for turning district officers into propagandists. In 1999, Tung Chee Hwa appointed 100 members to
741-558: 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
798-600: 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
855-521: 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 the Supreme Court, this Court has long been
912-547: 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
969-498: 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
1026-512: 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
1083-497: The 2007 election while Civic Act-up lost all their seats. The 2019–20 pro-democracy protests brought a historic landslide victory to the pro-democrats in the November election with members of the local political group Kickstart Wan Chai who all ran as independents won numbers of seats, ousting long-time pro-Beijing incumbents and took control of the council for the first time since 2003 election. Since 1982 political control of
1140-590: 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
1197-632: The Legislative Council (Legco). The initial purpose was to help implement the 'Clean Hong Kong' campaign, by distributing publicity material to local people. This was held to be a success. A next stage in the government's effort to increase local engagement and influence was the setting up, in June 1973, of mutual aid committees (MACs) in high-rise residential buildings. These were described in Legco as "a group of responsible citizens, resident in
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#17327880901581254-561: The New Territories . The next development was the establishment of eight district advisory boards in the districts of the New Territories, starting with Tsuen Wan in 1977. The boards, whose members were appointed, were more formally constituted than the city district boards, charged with advising on local matters, recommending minor district works, and conducting cultural and recreational activities. Then in 1982, under
1311-570: The modified constitutional reform proposal was passed by the Legislative Council in 2010. The Wan Chai District Council is the smallest District Council, having only 13 members due to its small population. Due to its continuing shrinking in size, the government in 2015 decided to transfer Tin Hau and Victoria Park constituencies from the Eastern District Council to Wan Chai. The Wan Chai District Council has been controlled by
1368-522: The "through train", the district boards became provisional district boards, composed of all the original members of the boards supplemented by others appointed by the chief executive. (Under the British administration, the Governor had refrained from appointing any member.) Later in early 1999 a bill was passed in the Legislative Council providing mainly for the establishment, composition and functions of
1425-595: 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
1482-486: 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
1539-581: 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
1596-497: 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,
1653-569: The District Councils, which would replace the Provisional District Boards. The 27 ex officio seats of Rural Committees , abolished by the colonial authorities, were reinstated. The government rejected any public survey or referendum on the issue, saying that it had been studying the issue since 1997, and had received 98 favourable submissions. The self-proclaimed pro-democracy camp dubbed the move "a setback to
1710-464: The Government on the following: District councils also undertake the following within the respective districts with its available funds allocated by the government: There is a district council for each of the following eighteen districts. The number in parentheses corresponds to the number shown on the map at the right. Following revamp of District Councils announced by the Government in 2023 ,
1767-437: 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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1824-487: 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
1881-422: 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
1938-532: The Legislative Council can be echoed in the district councils, who have sometimes been accused of slavishly supporting the government. Professor Li Pang-kwong, of Lingnan University , says that the problematic framework of the councils, being under the Home Affairs Bureau , has led them to work too closely with the government. He cites the example of the "copy and paste" Queen's Pier motions passed by thirteen councils to support government decisions as
1995-542: The New Territories, all were returned by direct election. District Councils are chaired by District Officers starting from 2024, and had been the case in the first three years of District Boards (name of District Councils before handover), i.e. between 1982 and 1985. Since 1985 and until 2023 chairmen of District Boards are elected from amongst the members. Source: Review of the Roles, Functions and Composition As of 2 January 2020: The party affiliations and politics in
2052-537: The appointed members of the Hong Kong district councils. In December 2007, Donald Tsang named 27 government-appointed council members. Tsang was criticised for not appointing a single member of the pan-democrats in either 2003 or 2007. After the election, Donald Tsang appointed 68 members, none of them from the pan-democrat camp. High Court of Hong Kong The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
2109-452: The conservatives with Peggy Lam being the chairwoman of the council from 1985 to 2003. The conservative control was interrupted between 2003 and 2007, when the pro-democrats and their allies took advance of the anti-government sentiment of the 2003 July 1 march in which the newly established Civic Act-up under Legislative Councillor Cyd Ho became the largest party in the council in the 2003 election and make nonpartisan Ada Wong Ying-kay
2166-545: The council chairwoman. The pro-democracy council was noted for its community reforms, stressing the citizens' involvement in the community planning, such as the urban renewal projects including the controversy over the demolition of Lee Tung Street . The pro-democracy council lasted for one term until the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) retook its largest party status in
2223-799: The council has been held by the following parties: Elections are held every four years. Between 1985 and 2023, the chairman is elected by all the members of the council. District council of Hong Kong 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 district councils , formerly district boards until 1999, are
2280-628: The district councils. These included 41 from various political parties, namely the Liberal Party , the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), and the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance . No democrats were appointed. In 2003, Tung appointed 21 political party appointees to the district councils to dilute the influence of the pan-democrats as follows: Professor of politics and sociology at Lingnan University , Dr. Li Pang-kwong said "As in
2337-418: The general electorate who did not otherwise have a functional constituency vote. Under the district councillor appointment system, 102 district councillors out of 534 were picked by the Chief Executive , while the remainder were democratically elected by voters in each district. The system was abolished in 2013, and the new District Councils after the 2015 election no longer have appointed members. In 2023,
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2394-460: The government proposed to cut the direct elect seats of district councilors from 452 to 88 seats while the total seats cut from 479 to 470 seats. Besides, all district councilors candidate who opt for election must be vetted and passed by the new District Council Eligibility Review Committee . The proposal has been approved by Legislative Council in July 2023. The councils are mandated to advise
2451-512: The governorship of Sir Murray MacLehose , the district boards were established under the District Administration Scheme. The aim was to improve co-ordination of government activities in the provision of services and facilities at the district level and the boards initially took over the roles of the district advisory boards. At first, the boards comprised only appointed members and government officials, but from 1982,
2508-540: The local councils for the 18 districts of Hong Kong . An early basis for the delivery of local services were the Kaifong associations , set up in 1949. However, by the 1960s, these had ceased to represent local interests, and so, in 1968, the government established the first local administrative structure with the city district offices, which were intended to enable it to mobilise support for its policies and programmes, such as in health and crime-reduction campaigns. An aim
2565-474: 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
2622-501: The number of the elected seats is significantly reduced to around 20%, while each of the 40 per cent of the seats will be returned by indirect elections and by revived government's appointment. Single non-transferable vote replaced " first past the post " system, as previously implemented in the 2021 reform . Before the drastic change, there were a total of 479 district council members in the sixth District Councils . Except 27 ex-officio seats occupied by Chairmen of Rural Committees in
2679-546: The pace of democracy" because it was a throwback to the colonial era. In 2010, the government proposed that five legislators be added to district council functional constituencies, and be elected by proportional representation of elected DC members. In a politically controversial deal between the Democratic Party and the Beijing government , this was changed to allow the five seats to be elected by those members of
2736-423: The past, most of the appointees were pro-government or persons without a clear political stance... ensur[ing] that no district council is in the hands of the democrats." A spokesman for the democrats said the appointees "will have an unfair advantage in that they are getting financial support from the government which will help them run for office in future elections." After this election, this election would abolish
2793-439: 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
2850-446: 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
2907-438: 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
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#17327880901582964-416: The same multi-storey building who work together to solve common problems of cleanliness and security." In fact, they were tightly controlled by the government. With government encouragement, the number of such committees increased rapidly in these private buildings, from 1,214 in 1973 to 3,463 in 1980. The scheme was extended to public housing estates, of which 800 had MACs in 1980, as well as factories and in
3021-517: Was also to monitor the grass roots, following the 1967 riots . Under the Community Involvement Plan, launched in the early 1970s, Hong Kong and Kowloon were divided into 74 areas, each of around 45,000 people. For each, an ' area committee ' of twenty members was then appointed by the city district officers, and was comprised, for the first time, of members from all sectors of the local community, led by an unofficial member of
3078-615: 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
3135-517: Was established on 20 February 1982 under the name of the Wan Chai District Board as the result of the colonial Governor Murray MacLehose 's District Administration Scheme reform. The District Board was partly elected with the ex-officio Urban Council members, as well as members appointed by the Governor until 1994 when last Governor Chris Patten refrained from appointing any members to the council. The Wan Chai District Board
3192-506: 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
3249-526: Was replaced by the Wan Chai Provisional District Board after the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) was established in 1997 with the appointment system being reintroduced by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa . The new Wan Chai District Council was established on 1 January 2000 after the first District Council election in 1999. The council has become fully elected when the appointed seats were abolished in 2011 after
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