Library Services
Opening Hours
| Opening Hours | |
|---|---|
| High Court Library |
Monday to Friday
|
| Court of Final Appeal Library |
Monday to Friday
|
| District Court Library |
Monday to Friday
|
|
The opening hours of the Library on black rainstorm days or days with typhoon signal no. 8 or above are subject to the announcement of the Judiciary Administrator.
* Admission only for the days when the applicants' cases are being heard at the Court of Final Appeal. |
Access to Libraries
The Libraries' principal patrons are members of the Judiciary.
Barristers, pupil barristers, solicitors and trainee solicitors in private practice or government service may apply for a Judiciary library card free of charge through their respective Bar Association/Law Society/Government department.
Foreign lawyers who are currently registered with the Law Society of Hong Kong or corporate lawyers have to pay an annual fee of $425/- per library card. A library card for law students is $85/- per annum. Others (refer to employees of a local barrister/solicitor, or any person whose work is related to court cases, such as legal journalists, court case reporters) may apply for a library card at a fee of $170/- per annum. All applications for library cards are processed centrally at the High Court Library. Application procedures and library forms are obtainable at the High Court Library and the District Court Library, or simply download by clicking - Library Forms . Holders of valid library cards may use the High Court Library and the District Court Library only. They may use the Court of Final Appeal Library for reference on the days when their cases are being heard in the Court of Final Appeal.
Litigants preparing for a coming court hearing may also apply for temporary library admission for a period specified by the Judiciary. Please refer to Judiciary Library Notice No.4 for details.
Services
The Judiciary Libraries provide legal reference and information services, and photocopying facilities. Loan services are available to Judges and Judicial Officers, Judiciary staff and Judiciary library card holders as stipulated in item 3(a) of the Judiciary Library Notice No.1 or Judiciary Library Notice No. 2. Self-service photocopying service is available at the High Court Library and the District Court Library, and the charges are as follows:
- A4 size paper: HK$0.5 per black & white copy
- A3 size paper: HK$0.6 per black & white copy
Photocopying served by library staff of the Judiciary Libraries is HK$4 per black & white copy.
There is a number of study carrels in the High Court Library for the use of patrons.
Workstations, which access to the internet, are designated for the use of patrons in various locations of the Judiciary Libraries. Printing service through workstations is available with a fee of $1.5 per computer printout. The Library Catalogue and other information about the library services and facilities and useful links to other legal websites are available via the Library homepage.
Circulation Information
Borrowing of Books
Judges and Judicial Officers may borrow books for 1 month and renew them as many times as required. Other staff members are allowed to borrow books for 1 week.
Legal professionals holding Judiciary library cards may borrow books from the High Court Library and the District Court Library overnight. They may borrow books from the High Court Library and the District Court Library after 4:00 pm and return them before 9:45 am on the following working day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays). If they need to borrow books before 4:00 pm for use in court, the due date and due time is the Library's closing time on the same day. Books borrowed from the Court of Final Appeal Library may be used in the Court of Final Appeal and must be returned to the Court of Final Appeal Library before its closing time on the same day.
Request for Library Books from the Off-site Storage
Library books with the location description “Off-site Storage” on the Library Catalogue have been moved from the High Court Library to an off-site storage. A Judiciary library card holder can request books from the Off-site Storage by filling in the request form and returning it to the High Court Library through email to libraries@judiciary.hk or in person. Members of the Judiciary may press the Request button on the Library Catalogue or fill in the request form. Please note that each applicant can request a maximum of two books from the Off-site Storage per day.
The requested books normally will be available for collection at the High Court Library within the following 3 working days upon submission of the request form and the applicant shall receive a notification for collection of the books by email or by phone according to the applicant’s preference indicated on the request form. However, the request will be cancelled and the books requested will be returned to the Off-site Storage without further notice if the applicant fails to collect the books from the High Court Library within 5 working days upon issue of the notification.