Following tradition, the year began with the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year on 14 January, at which the Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA spoke about the integrity of the law, which is the foundation of the operation of the law in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. He explained the constitutional role of judges to administer justice in accordance with the law. Crucial to the resolution of court cases was the transparency in the judicial process, as demonstrated in the fact that save for limited exceptions, all court proceedings are open to the public, and in the established practice of providing reasons for judicial decisions. He also spoke about the independence of the Judiciary, which underpinned the integrity of the law, as well as about the significant contribution from eminent judges from overseas common law jurisdictions who sit on the Court of Final Appeal.

In 2013, our Judges and Judicial Officers attended various conferences and seminars for exchanges with their counterparts from other jurisdictions. In particular, the Chief Justice attended the 15th Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific held in Singapore in October, among events in Auckland, London, Hsinchu (Taiwan) and Zurich. He also called on the President of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China in July.

**Photo provided by Supreme Court of Singapore

Many judicial appointments were made in the year 2013. Most notable were the appointment of the Hon Mr Justice Joseph FOK as a Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, the appointment of the Hon Mr Justice Patrick CHAN, the Hon James SPIGELMAN and the Hon William GUMMOW as Non-Permanent Judges of the Court of Final Appeal, the appointment of the Hon Mr Justice Johnson LAM as a Vice-President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court, the appointment of the Hon Mr Justice Andrew MACRAE as a Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court, and the appointment of the Hon Mr Justice Godfrey LAM, the Hon Mr Justice Peter NG, the Hon Mr Justice Kevin ZERVOS, and the Hon Madam Justice Anthea PANG as Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court.

In general, there have not been great fluctuations in the caseload and numbers of cases disposed of. As regards waiting times, the majority of the performance targets at various levels of courts were achieved. A few targets in the High Court were not met. One of the main reasons for this was the temporary constraints in the deployment of judicial manpower in the High Court. The Judiciary has completed an establishment review. The review finds that additional resources are needed for the creation of additional judicial (and support staff) posts for the Court of Appeal to enable it to cope with the increased workload. The review also finds that additional resources are needed for the creation of additional judicial posts at various levels of court for covering the absence of Judges and Judicial Officers for attending training and dealing with judicial education matters. The Judiciary has conveyed its resource requirements to the Administration, in accordance with the budgetary arrangements agreed between the Judiciary and the Administration in 2005.

The Chief Justice appointed Judges and Judicial Officers and invited representatives from the legal profession and relevant government departments and some lay members to sit on a number of boards and committees to contribute valuable views to issues that are important to the operation of the Judiciary. These boards and committees include the Civil Justice Reform Monitoring Committee, Working Party on Mediation, Civil Court Users’ Committee, Criminal Court Users’ Committee and Family Court Users’ Committee, the Governing Body of the Hong Kong Judicial Institute.

In 2013, the Judiciary arranged about 280 visits for more than 8400 visitors. Among all, most visitors are local students. We treasure all opportunities to meet with visitors and introduce to them different aspects of the operation of the Judiciary.

You are cordially invited to visit our Photo Gallery for various memorable moments of the Judiciary in 2013.