59-583: 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 Housing Department ( 房屋署 ) is a department of Hong Kong Government and is the executive arm of the Hong Kong Housing Authority , managing public housing estates which
118-583: 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
177-475: 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
236-580: 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
295-651: 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,
354-569: 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
413-511: 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
472-461: 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
531-463: A pay freeze imposed in 2012, resulting in its increase to HK$ 4.61 million ($ 591,000). In July 2017, directors of bureaux (DoBs) were approved to have a 12.4% pay rise and the 3.5% pay differential between secretaries of departments (SoDs) and DoBs remained, indicating a new annual pay of approximately HK$ 5 million for the city's leading role because the Chief Executive received a salary of 112% of
590-400: A pay freeze imposed on the chief executive and senior civil servants in 2012, he was accused of granting himself a pay rise by stealth and going against the trend of top politicians taking pay cuts instead of pay increases. In July 2021, Carrie Lam refused to remove the legal immunity of the chief executive in anti-bribery legislation, stating that the officeholder has to be accountable to
649-453: 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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#1732851900327708-647: 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
767-541: 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
826-589: 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
885-515: Is John Lee selected as chief executive in the 2022 election , appointed by the Chinese State Council with the designation decree signed by Premier Li Keqiang on 30 May 2022 and took office on 1 July 2022. Lee is the fifth Chief Executive; each of his four predecessors are still living. According to article 44 of the Basic Law, the chief executive must be a Chinese citizen as defined by
944-639: Is a statutory organisation tasked to develop and implement a public housing programme to help the Government achieve its policy objective on public housing. It reports to the Housing Bureau , which is headed by the Secretary for Housing . This article about the three branches of government in Hong Kong is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . High Court of Hong Kong The High Court of
1003-547: 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
1062-483: 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
1121-547: 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
1180-402: Is provided to discharge promotional and protocol-related functions. Depending on police risk assessment, personal security protection is provided. Former Chief Executives also enjoy medical and dental care. Former Chief Executives hold the title "The Honourable", and ranks third in the Hong Kong order of precedence . Remuneration for the chief executive of Hong Kong is among the highest in
1239-589: The Basic Law . The Election Committee is responsible for the nomination of chief executive candidates and election of the chief executive-elect. Under the 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes initiated by the National People's Congress , each candidate running for chief executive elections is to be nominated by at least 188 members of the Election Committee , before their eligibility is reviewed and confirmed by
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#17328519003271298-607: The Chief Secretary . The new salary of Chief Executive of Hong Kong is about thirty-nine times more than the annual salary of President of China . Since the chief executive is directly appointed by the Central People's Government of China after an election by a committee of 1,500 people selected by the Chinese Government, rather than the general population, many people, in particular the pro-democrats , have criticised
1357-530: The Chief Secretary for Administration , the most senior official and head of the Government Secretariat , in charge of overseeing the administration of the Government. The Chief Executive holds the title " The Honourable ", and ranks first in the Hong Kong order of precedence . The official residence of the chief executive is Government House in Central , Hong Kong Island . The current chief executive
1416-684: The Election Committee without first obtaining nominations from one eighth of its total members. The specific method for selecting the chief executive is prescribed in Annex I of the Basic Law. The Election Committee shall be composed of 1500 members from the following sectors pursuant to the amended Annex I under the 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes initiated by the National People's Congress . The Election Committee consists of individuals (i.e. private citizens) and representatives of bodies (i.e. special interest groups or corporate bodies) selected or elected by 40 prescribed sub-sectors as stipulated in Annex I to
1475-764: The Election Committee , with nomination by at least 15 members of each sector of the Election Committee. Candidacy is confirmed upon review and confirmation of eligibility by the Candidate Qualification Review Committee, according to opinions issued by the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the basis of a review by the National Security Department of
1534-617: The Hong Kong Police Force on whether a candidate meets the legal requirements and conditions of upholding the Basic Law and swearing allegiance to the HKSAR of the People's Republic of China . The Chief Executive-designate is then returned by the Election Committee with an absolute majority in a two-round system: the chief executive-designate is to be returned with an absolutely majority (>750 valid votes) 1. more than 2 candidates obtain
1593-579: 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
1652-718: The Legislative Council , and bestowing honours . The Basic Law grants the chief executive a wide range of powers, but obliges him or her, before making important policy decisions, introducing bills to the Legislative Council, making subsidiary legislation, and dissolving the Legislative Council, to act only after consultation with the Executive Council (all of whose members are the CE's own appointees). The executive council consists of official and non-official members, including
1711-499: The Legislative Council , deciding on government policies, advising appointment and dismissal of principal officials of the Government of Hong Kong to the Central People's Government of China , appointing judges and holders of certain public offices and to pardon or commute sentences. The position is also responsible for the policy address made to the public. The chief executive's powers and functions are established by article 48 of
1770-501: The chief secretary for administration , the financial secretary or the secretary for justice , by rotation, in that order, as acting chief executive. In case the position becomes vacant, a new chief executive would have to be selected. Prior to the handover in 1997 , the office of the chief executive-designate was at the seventh floor of the Asia Pacific Finance Tower. When Tung Chee-hwa assumed duty on 1 July 1997,
1829-463: The first selection of the chief executive, the committee consisted of only 400 members. It was expanded to 800 for the second term . As a result of enabling legislation stemming from a public consultation in 2010 , and its approval by the National People's Congress Standing Committee in Beijing, the number of representatives was increased from 800 to 1200. Following the electoral reform initiated by
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1888-616: The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China . The chief executive is head of the executive branch of the Hong Kong government. The functions of the chief executive include nominating principal officials for appointment by the State Council of China , which is headed by the premier , conducting foreign relations , appointing judges and other public officers, giving consent to legislation passed by
1947-419: The Basic Law. The Executive Council of Hong Kong is an organ for assisting the chief executive in policy-making. The council is consulted before making important policy decisions, introducing bills to the Legislative Council, making subordinate legislation or dissolving the Legislative Council. Article 52 of the Basic Law stipulates that the Chief Executive must resign when: The Legislative Council has
2006-525: The Candidate Eligibility Review Committee of the HKSAR. The chief executive-designate is then returned by the Election Committee with an absolute majority. The Election Committee is now principally elected by body voters. The number of subsectors with individual votes were significantly reduced, together with elimination of mixed individual and body voting: Chief Executive candidates must receive nominations by at least 188 members of
2065-513: The Chinese government in 2021 to increase mainland-Chinese controls on Hong Kong, the number of representatives was increased to 1500 but most are appointed or ex-officio seats. According to article 46 the term of office of the chief executive is five years with a maximum of two consecutive terms. If a vacancy occurs mid-term, the new Chief Executive's first term is for the remainder of the previous Chief Executive's term only. The method of selecting
2124-571: 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
2183-480: 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
2242-573: 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
2301-497: 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,
2360-437: 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,
2419-509: The HKSAR Passports Ordinance. The individual must be at least 40 years old, a Hong Kong permanent resident who is a Chinese citizen with right of abode in Hong Kong , and has ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than 20 years. Article 47 further requires that the chief executive be a person of integrity, dedicated to his or her duties. In addition, candidates are ineligible to stand for selection by
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2478-479: 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
2537-493: The High Court further delayed the trial until September 2023, until after the NPCSC ruled in the matter. Chief Executive 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 chief executive of
2596-422: 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
2655-465: 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
2714-680: The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong . The position was created to replace the office of Governor of Hong Kong , the representative of the Monarch of the United Kingdom during British colonial rule . The office, as stipulated by the Hong Kong Basic Law , formally came into being on 1 July 1997 with
2773-511: 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
2832-484: The chief executive is provided under Article 45 and Annex I of the Basic Law, and the Chief Executive Election Ordinance. Under the Basic Law the chief executive is the chief representative of the people of Hong Kong and is the head of the government of Hong Kong. The Chief Executive's powers and functions include leading the government, implementing the law, signing bills and budgets passed by
2891-428: The highest and the same no. of votes; or 2. no candidates win an absolute majority Then: The chief executive-designate must publicly disaffiliate with a political party within seven days of the election and must not become a member of a party during their term of office. The chief executive-designate is then appointed by the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China before taking office. In
2950-681: The office as undemocratic , and have criticised the entire election process as a "small-circle election." Former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa has even stated that the election's result is a non-binding one, saying that the Chinese government would refuse to appoint the winning candidate if that person was unacceptable to them. Many events , including the Five Constituencies Referendum in 2010, Umbrella Revolution in 2014 and Anti-Extradition Movement during 2019–20, have attempted to push for greater democracy and universal suffrage . In January 2015, when Leung Chun-Ying reversed
3009-782: The office of the chief executive moved to the low block of the new Central Government Complex in Tamar . Government House continues to serve as the official residence of the Chief Executive. Upon retirement, former Chief Executives have access to office space at the Office of Former Chief Executives, 28 Kennedy Road . The office provides administrative support to former Chief Executives to perform promotional, protocol-related, or any other activities in relation to their former official role. The activities include receiving visiting dignitaries and delegations, giving local and overseas media interviews, and taking part in speaking engagements. A chauffeur-driven car
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#17328519003273068-596: The office of the chief executive was located at the fifth floor of the Former Central Government Offices (Main Wing). In the past the governor had his office at Government House . Tung did not use Government House as the primary residence because he lived at his own residence at Grenville House . Donald Tsang decided to return to the renovated Government House during his first term , and moved in on 12 January 2006, for both his office and residence. In 2011,
3127-439: 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
3186-446: 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
3245-438: 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
3304-416: The power to propose a motion of impeachment of the chief executive for decision by the Central People's Government of China , with the following steps as stipulated in article 73(9) of the Basic Law : The acting and succession line is spelled out in article 53. If the chief executive is not able to discharge his or her duties for short periods (such as during overseas visits), the duties would be assumed by
3363-453: The world for a political leader , and only second to that of the prime minister of Singapore . The pay level took a cue from the handsome amounts paid to the city's colonial governors – worth $ 273,000 per annum plus perks in 1992. In 2005, Tung Chee Hwa received some HK$ 3 million ($ 378,500) in pay as Chief Executive. From 2009 until the end of 2014, the salary for the job stood at HK$ 4.22 million. In January 2015, Leung Chun-Ying reversed
3422-604: 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
3481-496: 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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