High Court
24-586: 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 Civil Service Bureau ( CSB ) is a policy bureaux under the Government Secretariat of the Government of Hong Kong and is responsible for
48-705: A barrister , advocate , solicitor or judicial officer in Hong Kong or another common law jurisdiction is eligible to be appointed as a Judge, Registrar or Master of the District Court. District Judges, as well as the Registrar and Masters of the District Court, are appointed by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the independent Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC). Limited-term or vacancy-filling Deputy District Judges may be appointed by
72-529: A declaration to pledge loyalty to the government. In response, Leung Chau-ting, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Civil Service Unions, said that the requirements were too vague and that the requirement would give the government power to discipline civil servants. In February 2021, the CSB announced that they will build both a temporary and permanent academy to teach civil servants about national affairs and
96-682: A jury. From its establishment in 1953 there have been no juries in the district court. The Attorney General at the time the District Court Ordinance was passed, Arthur Ridehalgh , explained to the Legislative Council that juries were "not infallible" and only a "means to an end" and that every practitioner will have come across cases where a verdict of not guilty was either a "stupid or perverse one." Judges would be required to give reasons for verdict would should be sufficient safeguard. A person who has practised for at least 5 years as
120-636: Is bound by the ratio of previous decisions of higher courts (including the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and Court of Appeal of the High Court, as well as all Hong Kong cases previously decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ) that have not been overruled. This article relating to law in Hong Kong is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about
144-573: Is modelled after the English legal system , with indictable offences being taken up by the District Court if they are transferred from the magistrate's court . The District Court hears all serious cases except murder, manslaughter rape and dangerous drug cases where large quantities of drugs have been seized, and can impose a sentence of up to seven years. Cases are heard in either the Cantonese or English language. A District Court Judge sits alone without
168-549: Is the intermediate court system in Hong Kong , having limited criminal and civil jurisdictions. The District Court was established in 1953 with the enactment of the District Court Ordinance. It is located in the Wanchai Law Courts, Wanchai Tower , 12 Harbour Road. In the past there were six district courts , namely Victoria , Kowloon , Fanling , Tsuen Wan , Tuen Mun and Sha Tin , before being amalgamated and moved to
192-808: Is the lower court of the High Court of Hong Kong , the upper court being the Court of Appeal . Formerly the High Court of Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong , it was renamed the Court of First Instance by the Basic Law after the handover of Hong Kong . The Court of First Instance is the highest court in Hong Kong that can hear cases at first instance with unlimited jurisdiction in both civil and criminal matters. It hears predominantly civil cases but only relatively few criminal cases were heard at first instance, mostly involving
216-628: The Chief Justice . It is not uncommon for a person to sit as a short-term Deputy District Judge prior to appointment in a permanent capacity. In 1986, Judge Helen Lo was the first woman to be appointed as a District Judge. District judges are mandated to retire at age 65. The Chief District Judge is the Court Leader of the District Court. The Judges who have held the position of Chief District Judge to date are: District Judges are referred to as 'His/Her Honour Judge [surname]'. The Judges of
240-656: The Lands Tribunal . In practice, however, only certain District Judges are assigned to hear cases in the Lands Tribunal. The Chief Justice appoints on a temporary basis a number of Permanent Magistrates , retired judges and practitioners in private practice to sit as Deputy District Judges. A Deputy District Judge may exercise all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of a District Judge. All Deputy District Judges are, by virtue of their office, Presiding Officers of
264-502: The national security law . In July 2022, figures were released, showing the CSB had the highest amount of employee resignations since the 1997 handover across multiple pay levels, in addition to declining applications for open positions. In August 2022, the CSB said it would take more measures against misbehaving civil servants, after civil servants represented about a third of all fired government employees. Additionally, 70 others were fired after not signing an oath to pledge loyalty to
SECTION 10
#1732847964709288-438: The CSB had 944 employees quit. The Civil Service College is administered by the CSB. In October 2022, the head of the college, Oscar Kwok Yam-shu, said that some civil servants lacked a deep understanding of the country or national identity. This article about the three branches of government in Hong Kong is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . District Court (Hong Kong) The District Court
312-606: The District Court Equal Opportunities Rules (Cap. 336G) and Practice Direction SL8. The District Court has jurisdiction to handle claims by the Inland Revenue Department against defaulting taxpayers to recover outstanding tax due to the Government , regardless of the amount. The District Court also hears appeals from taxpayers against assessments by the Collector of Stamp Duty . The system
336-552: The District Court as of 5 December 2022 are (ranked by seniority): Chief District Judge District Judges Pursuant to a general power of appointment to vacancies or on a temporary basis under sections 10 and 37A of the High Court Ordinance, Cap. 4, the Chief Justice frequently makes short-term appointments of District Court judges to sit in the High Court as a Deputy Judge or Master. All District Judges are, by virtue of their office, Presiding Officers of
360-409: The District Court may continue to handle the whole case even when the counterclaim exceeds HK$ 3 million, but a report has to be made to the High Court, which may order that the case be transferred. As to claims for possession of land, the District Court can deal with buildings or premises the annual rent or rateable value or the annual value of which does not exceed HK$ 320,000. If a claimant invokes
384-459: The District Court's equity jurisdiction , the above limits are equally applicable, except that in proceedings wholly relating to land, the maximum value shall not exceed HK$ 7 million. Distraint claims are handled by the District Court. The District Court has exclusive jurisdiction to determine claims for compensation payable under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282), regardless of
408-660: The Lands Tribunal. In practice, however, only certain Deputy District Judges are assigned to hear cases in the Lands Tribunal. All Judges of the District Court (regardless of whether Chief District Judge, Judges or Deputy Judges) are addressed in court as "Your Honour". In court judgments and decisions, District Judges are referred to as 'His/Her Honour Judge [surname]', 'HH Judge [surname]' or 'HHJ [surname]'. Deputy District Judges are referred to as 'Deputy District Judge [surname]' or 'DDJ [surname]'. Court of First Instance (Hong Kong) The Court of First Instance
432-748: The amount. Such claims are governed by the Employees' Compensation (Rules of Court) Rules (Cap. 282B) and Practice Direction 18.2. The District Court has exclusive jurisdiction to deal with claims made under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 480), the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 487), the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 527) and the Race Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 602). Such claims are governed by
456-501: The case of Chiang Lily v Secretary for Justice , the court confirmed that "there does not exist, in Hong Kong, any absolute right to trial by jury nor any mechanism by which a person to be tried of an indictable offence may elect to be so tried" (per Wright J.). A defendant will only face a jury trial if he is tried in the Court of First Instance, and the decision is the prerogative of the Secretary for Justice . The Court of First Instance
480-432: The excess is abandoned. If the claim is HK$ 75,000 or less, an adverse costs order may be made against the winning plaintiff due to pursuing its claim in the wrong court. If the plaintiff's claim does not exceed HK$ 3 million, but the defendant counterclaims for over HK$ 3 million, the claim and the counterclaim (or the counterclaim only) may be transferred to the Court of First Instance of the High Court . For good reasons,
504-702: The formulation and implementation of policies on the management of the Hong Kong Civil Service . The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) is led by the Secretary for the Civil Service and has approximately 600 staff. The CSB absorbed the Official Languages Agency (from 1 July 2003) and the Civil Service Training and Development Institute (from 1 April 2004). On 15 January 2021, the CSB announced that civil servants must either sign an oath or
SECTION 20
#1732847964709528-467: The government. In October 2022, Ingrid Yeung, head of the CSB, said that they would remove the requirement of "political neutrality" as one of the six core values in the Civil Service Code, a value which previously allowed non-high ranking civil servants to join any political party or take part in related activities if it does not raise a conflict of interest or bias. From 1 April and 30 June 2022,
552-547: The most serious crimes such as homicide offences, rape, serious drugs offences and major commercial frauds. It is also an appellate court hearing appeals against decisions made by Masters as well as those of: It is the only court in Hong Kong where cases are tried by a judge with a jury (although the inquisition in Coroner's court may involve a jury). The Basic Law only maintains 'the trial by jury previously practised in Hong Kong' but it does not make jury trial an absolute right. In
576-463: The same location in March 1991. The District Court has limited civil jurisdiction. For a contract, quasi-contract or tort claim to be handled by the District Court, it should be for an amount over HK$ 75,000 but not more than HK$ 3 million. If the claim is more than HK$ 3 million, the claim can still be pursued in the District Court (instead of the Court of First Instance of the High Court ) provided that
#708291