This Report provides an overview of the major events of the Judiciary during 2011. It also provides statistics on caseload and waiting time for various levels of court, and information about the operation of the Judiciary. I would, in particular, like to draw attention to the following –

In June the Honourable Mr Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung was appointed the Chief Judge of the High Court. A man of high integrity, Mr Justice Cheung commands the respect of Judges and the legal profession and makes an excellent Chief Judge of the High Court.

The implementation of Civil Justice Reform for the second year continued to be smooth and satisfactory on the whole. A longer time will be required to assess the full impact, benefit and effectiveness of such implementation. The Civil Justice Reform Monitoring Committee will continue to monitor the working of the reformed civil justice system.

Practice Direction 31 on Mediation has been implemented for two years to assist the courts in encouraging litigants to use mediation. The Mediation Information Office in the High Court Building provided useful assistance to parties in relation to mediation.

The Chief Executive has agreed that the Court of Final Appeal be relocated to No. 8 Jackson Road where the Legislative Council was previously accommodated. The Judiciary is pressing ahead with the planning of this important project. As a first step, the Judiciary took over the management of the building in November.

The construction of three additional courtrooms and associated facilities in the High Court building was completed as scheduled in December. These additional facilities will help alleviate the problem of shortage of courtrooms in the High Court and enhance efficiency in the deployment of judicial resources.

We hope that you will find this Report useful and gain a better understanding of the work of the Judiciary.