The Civil Justice Reform has been implemented for over a year. The key to success of the Reform lies in a change in culture in the conduct of court proceedings and of dispute resolution both on the part of Judges and the legal profession. The Civil Justice Reform Monitoring Committee has noted that good progress has been made in achieving this change in culture, but understandably it will take more time for the full impact of the reforms to be realised.

A new Practice Direction 31 on Mediation was implemented on 1 January 2010 to assist the courts in encouraging litigants to use mediation. To support the implementation of the Practice Direction, a Mediation Information Office was opened in the High Court building to provide assistance to parties in relation to mediation.

To alleviate the problem of shortage of courtrooms in the High Court and to facilitate greater efficiency in the deployment of judicial resources, in July 2010, we commenced construction of three additional courtrooms and associated facilities in the High Court building, including Judges' chambers, consultation rooms and waiting areas. The works are scheduled for completion by the end of 2011.

Together with the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the Judiciary organised the Second Judicial Seminar on Commercial Litigation in Hong Kong from 12 to 14 January 2010. This Seminar followed the successful launch of the inaugural Seminar in Sydney in 2008. It provided a very useful forum for Judges from different jurisdictions to share their experiences in handling various aspects of commercial litigation. There were delegates from Australia, India, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, People's Republic of China, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong.