Hong Kong Judiciary Annual Report 2017

	This Report provides an overview of the major events of the Judiciary in 2017.

	During the year, the West Kowloon Law Courts Building has come into full operation. It houses the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts, the Small Claims Tribunal, the Coroner’s Court and the Obscene Articles Tribunal. Equipped with additional courtrooms and modern facilities, the Building improves our services to court users.

	With the support of the Government and the Legislative Council, the salary and terms and conditions of service of judges and judicial officers have been enhanced with a view to addressing the recruitment difficulties and the long-term needs of the Judiciary.

	The Judiciary’s exchanges with our counterparts from other jurisdictions continue. We hosted the Fourth Seminar of Senior Judges of Cross-Strait and Hong Kong and Macao in September, providing a platform for judicial exchanges among the four jurisdictions.

	This Report also provides statistics on the caseload and waiting times at various levels of court, and other information about the operation of the Judiciary. We hope that you will find this Report useful and gain a better understanding of the work of the Judiciary.

	Geoffrey Ma Chief Justice

Review of 2017

	Following tradition, the year began with the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year on 9 January. The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA spoke about the purpose of the law to facilitate the functioning of a society, and to achieve a sense of mutual respect and harmony. This was the community approach of the courts : For the respect not just of individual rights but respect for everyone’s rights and interests. Reference was made to the statue representing justice (Themis) standing at the top of the Court of Final Appeal Building. This statue represented equality before the courts (she is blindfolded), that no one should gain any advantage by reason of status nor should anyone suffer any disadvantage by reason of status either. All are treated equally, and legal principle and legal procedures apply in the same way. The scales held by Themis represents the balancing of interests that has sometimes to be undertaken. The role of judges in the administration of justice in the discharge of their constitutional duty is key.

	The Chief Justice also stressed the importance of maintaining the high standards in the Judiciary notwithstanding the recruitment difficulties faced by the Judiciary over the past few years.

	West Kowloon Law Courts Building

	The West Kowloon Law Courts Building (“the Building”) has come into full operation after the relocation of the Coroner’s Court and the Obscene and Articles Tribunal to it in January 2017. The Chief Justice officiated at the opening ceremony of the Building on 12 May 2017.

	Housing also the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts and the Small Claims Tribunal which have commenced operation therein last year, the Building has a total of 32 courtrooms and other support facilities, such as consultation rooms, waiting rooms, registries, an information centre, etc, which help enhance services to the court users.

	Exchanges with other Jurisdictions

	In 2017, our Judges and Judicial Officers attended various conferences and seminars for exchanges with their counterparts from other jurisdictions. In May, the Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts hosted by the Judiciary of England and Wales of the United Kingdom. In end May/early June, he attended the 4th Asia-Pacific Judicial Colloquium in Vancouver, Canada. In September, the Judiciary hosted the Fourth Seminar of Senior Judges of Cross-Strait and Hong Kong and Macao; the Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA also attended the 17th Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific and delivered a speech at the 30th LAWASIA Conference held in Tokyo, Japan.

	Appointment of Judges and Judicial Officers

	Many judicial appointments took effect in 2017. Among these were the appointments of the Hon Madam Justice Susana Maria D’ALMADA REMEDIOS, the Hon Mr Justice Wilson CHAN and the Hon Madam Justice Lisa WONG as Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court.

	Caseload and Case Disposal
	In 2017, the overall performance was satisfactory. The majority of the performance targets at various levels of courts were achieved. Although a few targets on the average waiting time for cases in the Court of First Instance of High Court were not met, improvement has shown as compared with previous years. During the year, the Judiciary issued a new Practice Direction to enhance management of criminal proceedings at the Court of First Instance of the High Court, and appointed Deputy Judges, with a view to handling as many cases as possible and shortening the waiting time. To address the shortfall in judicial manpower which is one of the factors affecting the court waiting time for the High Court, as well as the long-term needs of the whole of the Judiciary, the conditions of service of Judges and Judicial Officers were enhanced with effect from 1 April 2017, and another review on the statutory retirement ages of Judges and Judicial Officers was completed before the end of 2017. The Judiciary will continue to closely monitor the waiting time for court cases.

	Membership of Boards and Committees
	The Chief Justice appointed Judges and Judicial Officers and invited representatives from the legal profession and relevant government departments 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, Admiralty Court Users’ Committee, Civil Court Users’ Committee, Criminal Court Users’ Committee, Family Court Users’ Committee, Competition Tribunal Users’ Committee, Sub-Committee on Companies and Insolvency Matters of the Civil Court Users’ Committee and the Governing Body of the Hong Kong Judicial Institute.

	Visits and Visitors to the Judiciary
	In 2017, the Judiciary arranged 330 visits for about 9600 visitors. Among all, most visitors are local students. We greatly value all opportunities to meet with visitors and introduce to them the work of the Judiciary.

	You are cordially invited to visit our Photo Gallery for various memorable moments of the Judiciary in 2017.

Highlights of Events in 2017

January

4	Her Honour Judge Susana M D'ALMADA REMEDIOS and His Honour Judge Wilson CHAN Ka-shun were appointed Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
9	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA declared opening of the 2017 Legal Year
9	Around 40 delegation heads of representatives of legal professions from the Mainland and overseas attending the 2017 Legal Year Opening visited the Court of Final Appeal
10	Mr WANG Xie, Deputy Director General, Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice, visited the Judiciary
23	Ms Angela KOT Sin-yee; Mr Reuden LAI Tat-cheung; Mr George OWN; Miss CHAN Yuk-fan; Mr WONG Lai-wing and Mr LIU Man-kin were appointed District Judges

February

22	A two-member delegation from the State Courts of Singapore visited the Judiciary
23	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA delivered the Closing Address at the Global Pound Conference, Hong Kong
24	A three-member delegation led by Ms LU Xi, Director of Anti-Corruption-and-Bribery Bureau and Vice-ministerial Level Member of the Procuratorial Committee and Grand Procurator of the Second Rank of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, visited the Judiciary
27	A four-member delegation led by the Hon Martin PAKULA MP, Attorney-General, State Government of Victoria, Australia, visited the Judiciary

March

2	Ms Tomoko NISHIMOTO, Assistant Director-General and Regional Director, International Labour Organisation Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, visited the Judiciary
11	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the 15th Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot
15	Ms Lisa WONG Kwok-ying, SC, was appointed Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
17-22	The Hon Mr Justice Jonathan R HARRIS, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the Twelfth Multinational Judicial Colloquium on Insolvency and the Tenth Quadrennial Congress of INSOL International in Sydney, Australia
20-24	The Hon Mr Justice Joseph P FOK, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal and the Hon Mr Justice Andrew CHEUNG, Chief Judge of the High Court, participated in the 20th Commonwealth Law Conference in Melbourne, Australia
28-29	An eight-member delegation led by Mr WEN Chang-zhi, President of the Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone People’s Court, visited the Judiciary

April

5-7	Master Herbert AU-YEUNG, Temporary Deputy Registrar of the High Court, attended the 7th Annual Competition Law Workshop for Asia-Pacific Judges in Manila, the Philippines
6	Mr Edmond LEE Chun-man and Ms Winnie TSUI Wan-wah were appointed District Judges
20	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA delivered a speech on “Relevance of the Rule of Law to Business and Investment” at the Speaker Luncheon Meeting of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors
21	Members of the Legislative Council Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services visited the Judiciary
22-24	The Hon Mr Justice Andrew CHEUNG, Chief Judge of the High Court, the Hon Mr Justice Jeremy POON, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court, Mr Registrar LUNG Kim-wan, Registrar of the High Court and Master Herbert AU-YEUNG, Temporary Deputy Registrar of the High Court participated in the Symposium on the 20th Anniversary of Mutual Judicial Assistance on Civil and Commercial Matters between the Mainland and Hong Kong – Review and Outlook in Xian
24	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA delivered a speech on “The Rule of Law in Hong Kong” at the Pacific Rim Advisory Council 61st International Conference Hong Kong

May

1-5	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA and the Hon Mr Justice Andrew CHEUNG, Chief Judge of the High Court, attended the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts hosted by the Judiciary of England and Wales in London. The Chief Justice also spoke at Chatham House in London
4	A 30-member delegation from the Chancery Bar Association visited the Judiciary
9	A ten-member delegation from the Beijing Normal University Study and Service Center of Juvenile Justice Social Work visited the Judiciary
12	Ceremonial Opening of the West Kowloon Law Courts Building
13	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the Department of Medicine, Hong Kong University's 22nd Hong Kong Medical Forum - Richard Yu Lecture and delivered a speech on “Judicial review and the practice of medicine in Hong Kong”
13	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the Bar Association Debating Competition 2017
13	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the 110th Law Society of Hong Kong Jubilee Celebration Dinner
15	Ms Christina BLACKLAWS, Deputy Vice President and Ms Holly MCKENZIE, International Policy Assistant (Asia) of Law Society of England and Wales of the United Kingdom, visited the Judiciary
15	A 23-member delegation of Mainland judges attending the Master of Laws Programme of the City University of Hong Kong visited the Judiciary
16	A two-member delegation from the Dispute Resolution Authority of Dubai International Financial Centre visited the Judiciary
23	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Charities Trust Annual Scholarship Presentation Ceremony cum 16th Graduation Dinner and delivered a speech on “A Life Well Lived”
26-27	The Hon Mr Justice Patrick CHAN, Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, attended the Seminar on the 20th Anniversary of the Implementation of Basic Law of Hong Kong in Beijing
29	86 judges and senior government officials participating in the “Senior Executive on Justice Administration Programme” organised by the Court of Justice of Thailand visited the Judiciary
29.5-4.6	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA, the Hon Mr Justice R A V RIBEIRO, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal and the Hon Mr Justice Joseph P FOK, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, attended the 4th Asia-Pacific Judicial Colloquium in Vancouver, Canada
31	The Hon Robert FRENCH and the Rt Hon Lord REED were appointed Non-Permanent Judges from other common law jurisdictions of the Court of Final Appeal

June

9	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the Law Reform Commission Dinner and Essay Competition Award Ceremony 2017
10	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA presided over the 2017 Senior Counsel Admission Ceremony
18-20	The Hon Mr Justice Jonathan R HARRIS, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the International Insolvency Institute’s 17th Annual Conference in London, United Kingdom
27	An eight-member delegation led by Mr HU Zhi-guang, Vice-President of the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, visited the Judiciary
30	The term of office of the Rt Hon the Lord COLLINS of Mapesbury and the Rt Hon the Lord CLARKE of Stone-cum-Ebony, Non-Permanent Judges from other common law jurisdictions of the Court of Final Appeal, was extended for a period of three years

July

3-4	The Hon Madam Justice Bebe CHU, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, spoke at the HCCH Asia Pacific Week 2017 held in Seoul, South Korea
4	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the Law Council of Australia International Law Section Hong Kong Chapter’s Cocktail and Talk
6	The Hon Mr Justice Robert FRENCH, AC, Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, delivered a talk entitled “Restating the Common Law – the American Law Institute” at the High Court
28	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the Annual General Meeting of Scout Association of Hong Kong

August

19	15 legal professionals and law students from the Diocese of Eastern Kowloon, Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, visited the Judiciary
24-25	The Hon Mr Justice Jonathan R HARRIS, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, participated as a panellist in the Singapore Insolvency Conference 2017 held in Singapore
26	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA delivered a speech entitled "Twenty Years of the Court of Final Appeal" at the Distinguished Speaker's Luncheon organised by Young Solicitors' Group, the Law Society of Hong Kong

September

1	Mr Justice Henry CARR, Judge of the High Court of England and Wales of the United Kingdom, visited the Judiciary
14-15	The Judiciary organised the Fourth Seminar of Senior Judges of Cross-Strait and Hong Kong and Macao
18-21	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the 17th Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific and delivered a speech at the 30th LAWASIA Conference in Tokyo, Japan
26	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended as the Chief Adjudicator at the 14th Senior World Schools Debating Championship Tournament - Grand Final
28	Ms LEUNG Ka-kie; Ms Stephanie TSUI May-har; Ms LEUNG Siu-ling; Mr Jacky IP Kai-leung; Mr PANG Leung-ting; Ms May CHUNG Ming-sun; Miss Louise CHAN Lo-yee; Mr Edward WONG Ching-yu and Mr LAM Tsz-kan were appointed Permanent Magistrates

October

10-17	The Hon Madam Justice Bebe CHU, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, participated in the 7th Meeting of the Special Commission on the Practical Operation of the 1980 Child Abduction and the 1996 Child Protection Conventions in The Hague, the Netherlands
16	The Right Honourable Sir Geoffrey VOS, Chancellor of the High Court of England and Wales, delivered a talk entitled “Contractual Interpretation: Do Judges Sometimes Say One Thing and Do Another?” at the High Court
17	A group of 31 Mainland judges attending the 11th Advanced Programme for Chinese Senior Judges of the City University of Hong Kong visited the Judiciary
18	A delegation from the Songino Khairkhan District of Mongolia including the Chief Judge of the First Instance Criminal Court and the District Attorney visited the Judiciary
19	A group of 23 judges participating in the Second UNCITRAL Asia-Pacific Judicial Summit visited the Judiciary
20	Professor Dr Nayla COMAIR-OBEID, President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators of the United Kingdom, visited the Judiciary
27	Professor Dame Hazel GENN, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies and Co-Director of the UCL Judicial Institute, Faculty of Laws, University College London, delivered a talk entitled “Online Courts, AI and the Future of Justice” at the High Court
29	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the Hong Kong Scout Rally 2017
31.10-3.11	Miss Ada YIM Shun-yee, Magistrate, attended the 2017 Asia Pacific Coroners’ Society Conference in Glenelg, South Australia

November

5-9	Deputy High Court Judge Tony POON, the judge with special responsibility for the Executive Body of the Hong Kong Judicial Institute, attended the 8th International Conference on the Training of the Judiciary of the International Organisation for Judicial Training in Manila, the Philippines
11-12	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the Third Qatar Law Forum on The Rule of Law in Doha, Qatar
14-17	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA delivered the Singapore Academy of Law Annual Lecture 2017 “Lawyers and the Public Interest : Is there still Honour in the Profession?” and a keynote address at the Singapore Trustees Association Conference 2017
20	A seven-member delegation from Jiangsu Province led by Mr SUN Daolin, Vice-President of the Nanjing Intermediate People’s Court, visited the Judiciary
21	Mr LEUNG Man-liang, Matthew was appointed as Permanent Magistrate
22	19 mainland judges of the Foshan Intermediate People’s Court visited the Judiciary
23	A 12-member delegation from the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court of Thailand visited the Judiciary
25	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the Opening Ceremony of Law Week and Teen Talk 2017
27	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the Annual Cocktail Reception of The Law Society of Hong Kong
30	Mr Registrar LUNG Kim-wan, Registrar of the High Court, attended the International Symposium on Civil Procedure Law in Macao

December

1	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the 60th Annual General Meeting and the 60th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee Gala Dinner of the Society of Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention, Hong Kong
1	Master Herbert AU-YEUNG, Temporary Deputy Registrar of the High Court, attended the International Symposium on Civil Procedure Law in Macao
4-5	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA, at the invitation of the Higher People’s Court of Guangdong Province, led a delegation to visit the Higher People’s Court of Guangdong Province, the People’s Court of Tianhe District, Guangzhou, and the People’s Court of Nansha District, Guangzhou. The delegation also attended a seminar to exchange views on judicial issues on matrimonial and family cases and cross-border insolvency cases
7-8	The Hon Madam Justice Queeny AU-YEUNG, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, participated as a speaker in the Tokyo Seminar on the 1980 Hague Convention in Asia Pacific held in Tokyo, Japan
8	Dr Christos CABOLIS, Chief Economist and Head of Operations of the International Institute for Management Development World Competitiveness Center, visited the Judiciary
12	An eight-member delegation from the Supreme Court of Nepal visited the Judiciary
13	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the Ceremony on the Nanjing Massacre National Memorial Day
13	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the 2017 Law Society Pro Bono and Community Service Award Presentation Ceremony
21	Mr Dick HO Chin-pang and Mr SO Wai-tak were appointed Principal Magistrates

List of Judges and Judicial Officers

Court of Final Appeal

-	Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal
	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA, GBM
-	Permanent Judges of the Court of Final Appeal
	The Hon Mr Justice R A V RIBEIRO
	The Hon Mr Justice Robert TANG, SBS
	The Hon Mr Justice Joseph P FOK
-	Non-Permanent Judges of the Court of Final Appeal
	The Hon Mr Justice S K S BOKHARY, GBM
	The Hon Mr Justice Patrick CHAN, GBM
	The Hon Mr Justice Frank STOCK, GBS
	The Rt Hon the Lord HOFFMANN, GBS
	The Rt Hon the Lord MILLETT, GBS
	The Hon Mr Justice Murray GLEESON
	The Rt Hon the Lord NEUBERGER of Abbotsbury
	The Rt Hon the Lord WALKER of Gestingthorpe
	The Rt Hon the Lord COLLINS of Mapesbury
	The Rt Hon the Lord CLARKE of Stone-cum-Ebony
	The Rt Hon the Lord PHILLIPS of Worth Matravers
	The Hon Mr Justice James SPIGELMAN
	The Hon Mr Justice William GUMMOW
	The Hon Mr Justice Robert FRENCH (w.e.f. 31.5.2017)
	The Rt Hon Lord REED (w.e.f. 31.5.2017)
-	Registrar of the Court of Final Appeal
	Mr KWANG Cheok-weung, Simon

High Court

-	Chief Judge of the High Court
	The Hon Mr Justice CHEUNG
-	Justices of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court
	The Hon Mr Justice Wally YEUNG, V-P
	The Hon Mr Justice Johnson LAM, V-P
	The Hon Mr Justice Michael V LUNN, V-P
	The Hon Mr Justice Peter CHEUNG, JA
	The Hon Madam Justice Maria C YUEN, JA
	The Hon Madam Justice Susan KWAN, JA
	The Hon Madam Justice Carlye CHU, JA
	The Hon Mr Justice Aarif T BARMA, JA
	The Hon Mr Justice Andrew C MACRAE, JA
	The Hon Mr Justice Ian C McWALTERS, JA
	The Hon Mr Justice S C POON, JA
	The Hon Mr Justice Derek PANG, JA
-	Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
	The Hon Mr Justice Andrew CHUNG
	The Hon Mr Justice Louis TONG, SBS #
	The Hon Mr Justice Barnabas FUNG, GBS
	The Hon Mrs Justice Judianna W L BARNES
	The Hon Madam Justice Maggie POON
	The Hon Mr Justice H C AU
	The Hon Mr Justice Jonathan R HARRIS
	The Hon Mr Justice Mohan T BHARWANEY
	The Hon Madam Justice Queeny AU-YEUNG
	The Hon Mr Justice Patrick LI
	The Hon Madam Justice Esther TOH
	The Hon Mr Justice Louis CHAN
	The Hon Mr Justice Andrew CHAN
	The Hon Madam Justice Mimmie CHAN
	The Hon Mr Justice Anthony CHAN
	The Hon Mr Justice Godfrey LAM
	The Hon Mr Justice Peter NG
	The Hon Mr Justice Kevin P ZERVOS
	The Hon Madam Justice Anthea PANG
	The Hon Mr Justice Anderson CHOW
	The Hon Madam Justice B. CHU
	The Hon Mr Justice David LOK
	The Hon Mr Justice Joseph YAU
	The Hon Mr Justice Albert WONG
	The Hon Mrs Justice Audrey P CAMPBELL-MOFFAT
	The Hon Madam Justice Susana M D'ALMADA REMEDIOS (w.e.f. 4.1.2017)
	The Hon Mr Justice Wilson CHAN (w.e.f. 4.1.2017)
	The Hon Madam Justice K Y WONG (w.e.f. 15.3.2017)
-	Recorders of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
	Mr POW Wing-nin, Jason, SC
	Ms WONG Kwok-ying, Lisa, SC (up to 14.3.2017)
	Mr COLEMAN Russell Adam, SC
	Mr HOUGHTON Anthony Kenneth, SC
	Ms CHENG Yeuk-wah, Teresa, GBS, SC, JP (up to 31.12.2017)
	Ms TAM Wan-chi, Winnie, SC
	Mr WONG Kai-ming, Stewart, SC
	Ms CHAN Ching-fan, Linda, SC
	Mr WHITEHEAD Robert John, SC
-	Registrar, High Court
	Mr LUNG Kim-wan
-	Senior Deputy Registrars, High Court
	Mr HO Chi-yin, Andy
	Mr KWANG Cheok-weung, Simon

#	Retired in 2017

District Court

-	Chief District Judge
	His Honour Judge S T POON
-	Principal Family Court Judge
	His Honour Judge Bruno CHAN #
-	District Judges
	Her Honour Judge Marlene NG
	Her Honour Judge Susana M D'ALMADA REMEDIOS (up to 3.1.2017)
	His Honour Judge Michael WONG
	His Honour Judge Stanley CHAN
	His Honour Judge C M LEUNG
	Her Honour Judge Sharon D MELLOY
	His Honour Judge Eddie YIP
	Her Honour Judge Katina LEVY
	His Honour Judge C K CHAN
	His Honour Judge Frankie YIU
	His Honour Judge K W WONG
	His Honour Judge Justin KO
	His Honour Judge Douglas YAU
	His Honour Judge W K KWOK
	His Honour Judge Josiah LAM
	His Honour Judge Anthony KWOK
	His Honour Judge David J DUFTON
	His Honour Judge S M SHAM
	Her Honour Judge Amanda J WOODCOCK
	His Honour Judge K H HUI
	His Honour Judge Jack WONG
	Her Honour Judge Katherine LO
	His Honour Judge Johnny CHAN
	His Honour Judge Gary LAM
	His Honour Judge Andrew LI
	His Honour Judge Herbert AU-YEUNG
	His Honour Judge W T LEE
	His Honour Judge Wilson CHAN (up to 3.1.2017)
	His Honour Judge Harold LEONG
	His Honour Judge Kent YEE
	His Honour Judge Roy YU
	His Honour Judge C P PANG
	His Honour Judge Timothy H CASEWELL
	His Honour Judge Simon LO
	His Honour Judge S L TAM
	Her Honour Judge Angela KOT (w.e.f. 23.1.2017)
	His Honour Judge Reuden LAI (w.e.f. 23.1.2017)
	His Honour Judge George OWN (w.e.f. 23.1.2017)
	Her Honour Judge Y F CHAN (w.e.f. 23.1.2017)
	His Honour Judge L W WONG (w.e.f. 23.1.2017)
	His Honour Judge M K LIU (w.e.f. 23.1.2017)
	His Honour Judge Edmond LEE (w.e.f. 6.4.2017)
	Her Honour Judge Winnie TSUI (w.e.f. 6.4.2017)

#	Retired in 2017

Lands Tribunal

-	Members, Lands Tribunal
	Mr PANG Ho-chuen, Lawrence
	Mr NG Siu-lam, Alex

Magistrates' Courts and other Tribunals

-	Chief Magistrate
	Mr LEE Hing-nin, Clement
-	Principal Magistrates
	Mr LIN Kam-hung, Ernest Michael
	Mr CHOW Siu-wo, Anthony
	Mr TAM Lee-cheung
	Ms CHAINRAI Bina
	Mr LAW Tak-chuen, Peter
	Ms WOO Huey-fang, Bernadette
	Mr LUI Kin-man, Simon
	Mr HO Chin-pang, Dick (w.e.f. 21.12.2017)
	Mr SO Wai-tak (w.e.f. 21.12.2017)
-	Magistrates
	Ms KOT Sin-yee, Angela (up to 22.1.2017)
	Ms CHOW Yin-chu, Merinda
	Mr LEE Ka-chai, Lambert #
	Mrs TSE CHING Adriana Noelle
	Miss YIM Shun-yee, Ada
	Mr WONG Wai-kuen #
	Mr LAI Tat-cheung, Reuden (up to 22.1.2017)
	Mr OWN George (up to 22.1.2017)
	Mr MAK Kwok-cheung
	Mr TO Ho-shing
	Miss CHAN Yuk-fan, Grace (up to 22.1.2017)
	Mr CHEANG Kei-hong
	Mr SO Man-lung, Don
	Mr WONG Kwok-fai, Raymond
	Ms CHAN Wai-mun
	Miss CHOW Pok-fun, Josephine
	Mr PANG Ka-kwong
	Mr WONG Lai-wing (up to 22.1.2017)
	Mr HO Chin-pang, Dick (up to 20.12.2017)
	Mr YIP Sue-pui, Lawrence
	Mr SO Wai-tak (up to 20.12.2017)
	Mr WAN Siu-ming, Jason
	Miss CHUI Yee-mei, Ivy
	Mr LI Chi-ho
	Ms WONG Susan
	Ms LAU Yee-wan, Winnie
	Mr TANG Siu-hung, Daniel
	Mr CHEUNG Chi-wai, David
	Mr CHENG Lim-chi
	Ms LAM Mei-sze, Michelle
	Mr CHUM Yau-fong, David
	Mr SHUM Kei-leong, Timon
	Mr KO Wai-hung
	Miss HO Wai-yang
	Ms CHEUNG Kit-yee
	Ms CHEUNG Tin-ngan, June
	Ms WONG Sze-lai
	Miss NG Chung-yee, Debbie
	Ms HEUNG Shuk-han, Veronica
	Mr CHU Chung-keung
	Ms TO Kit-ling, Doris
	Ms SHUI Kelly
	Ms CHENG Kam-lin, Catherine
	Mr CHAN Ping-chau, Kenneth
	Mr LEE Siu-ho
	Mr CHOW Chi-wei, Raymund
	Ms CHU Yuen-yee
	Mr CHAN David
	Ms WONG Nga-yan, Peony
	Mr WONG Sze-cheung, Colin
	Ms SO Ka-yin, Rita
	Miss LEE Kar-lok, Jacqueline
	Mr HO Chun-yiu
	Ms SOONG Wing-sum
	Ms LEUNG Ka-kie (w.e.f. 28.9.2017)
	Ms TSUI May-har, Stephanie (w.e.f. 28.9.2017)
	Ms LEUNG Siu-ling (w.e.f. 28.9.2017)
	Mr IP Kai-leung, Jacky (w.e.f. 28.9.2017)
	Mr PANG Leung-ting (w.e.f. 28.9.2017)
	Ms CHUNG Ming-sun, May (w.e.f. 28.9.2017)
	Miss CHAN Lo-yee, Louise (w.e.f. 28.9.2017)
	Mr WONG Ching-yu, Edward (w.e.f. 28.9.2017)
	Mr LAM Tsz-kan (w.e.f. 28.9.2017)
	Mr LEUNG Man-liang, Matthew (w.e.f. 21.11.2017)
-	Special Magistrates
	Mr TAM Ka-huen
	Mr CHAN Chi-kim #
	Mr SO Kai-cheung
	Miss HO Lai-ming
	Miss LAU Suk-han
	Ms LEUNG Ka-kie (up to 27.9.2017)
	Mr YUE King-tin, Robin *
	Mr MOK Tze-chung, Andrew
	Miss LEUNG Nga-yan, Frances
	Mr YU Chun-pong
	Mr LAM Hei-wei, Arthur

*	Left service in 2017
#	Retired in 2017

Caseload, Case Disposal and Waiting Time at Different Court Levels

Court of Final Appeal

CASELOAD AND CASE DISPOSAL OF THE COURT OF FINAL APPEAL

	Caseload			Disposal*
	2015	2016	2017	2015	2016	2017
Applications for leave to appeal
- Criminal	71	61	65	70 (47)	68 (39)	57 (36)
- Civil	56	68	47	62 (27)	63 (31)	68 (36)
Total	127	129	112	132	131	125
Substantive appeals
- Criminal	9	19	11	7	18	13
- Civil	22	13	15	19	15	18
Total	31	32	26	26	33	31
Miscellaneous proceedings	0	0	0	0	0	0

*	Case disposal refers to applications for leave to appeal/appeals which have been allowed, dismissed, withdrawn, abandoned or discontinued
	The figures in brackets indicate the number of applications dismissed under Rule 7 of the Court of Final Appeal Rules, Cap. 484A

AVERAGE WAITING TIME FOR CASES IN THE COURT OF FINAL APPEAL

	Average Waiting Time (days)
	Target	2015	2016	2017
Applications for leave to appeal
From notice of hearing to hearing
-Criminal	45	42	42	44
-Civil	35	31	33	33
Substantive appeals
From notice of hearing to hearing
-Criminal	100	96	98	90
-Civil	120	112	117	118

Caseload, Case Disposal and Waiting Time at Different Court Levels

High Court

CASELOAD AND CASE DISPOSAL OF THE HIGH COURT

		Caseload			Disposal *
		2015	2016	2017	2015	2016	2017
Court of Appeal
Appellate
-	Criminal
	Appeals from the Court of First Instance	190	172	179	170	151	160
	Appeals from the District Court	251	222	237	261	229	206
	Sub-total	441	394	416	431	380	366
-	Civil
	Appeals from the Court of First Instance	225	214	264	219	226	193
	Appeals from the District Court	19	12	16	29	16	11
	Miscellaneous Appeals	35	20	18	29	31	20
	Sub-total	279	246	298	277	273	224
Review of Sentences
-	Criminal
	Reviews from the Court of First Instance	0	2	0	1	0	2
	Reviews from the District Court	1	2	2	0	1	4
	Reviews from the Magistrates' Courts	0	2	2	0	0	3
	Sub-total	1	6	4	1	1	9
	Total	721	646	718	709	654	599
Miscellaneous Proceedings⁺		-	-	83	-	-	39

*	Case disposal refers to appeals/reviews which have been allowed, dismissed, withdrawn, discontinued or abandoned with or without court order
⁺	A new case type created to capture criminal and civil miscellaneous matters before the Court of Appeal with effect from 1 July 2017. Its caseload was formerly subsumed under High Court Miscellaneous Proceedings and categorized under civil jurisdiction of the Court of First Instance

		Caseload			Disposal *
		2015	2016	2017	2015	2016	2017
Court of First Instance
Appellate
-	Criminal
	Appeals from Magistrates' Courts	777	702	659	756	713	719
-	Civil
	Appeals from Labour Tribunal	47	27	45	31	30	30
	Appeals from Small Claims Tribunal	76	44	66	67	49	43
	Appeals from Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board	3	2	5	5	3	5
	Miscellaneous Appeals	2	5	3	2	2	5
	Sub-total	128	78	119	105	84	83
	Total	905	780	778	861	797	802

First Instance
-	Criminal Jurisdiction
	Criminal Cases	503	497	449	493	506	519
	Confidential Miscellaneous Proceedings	402	405	382	402	405	382
	Application for Discharge	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Miscellaneous Proceedings (Criminal)^{^}	-	-	374	-	-	295
	Sub-total	905	902	1 205	895	911	1 196
-	Civil Jurisdiction
	High Court Actions	3 125	3 448	3 041	1 955	2 093	1 971
	Miscellaneous Proceedings^@	3 471	3 617	2 778	2 478	2 577	2 205
	Bankruptcy & Companies Winding-up⁺	11 087	10 298	8 880	11 008	10 107	8 838
	Personal Injuries Actions	1 418	1 447	1 394	1 173	1 255	1 301
	Other cases^#	656	579	1 507	256	381	517
	Sub-total	19 757	19 389	17 600	16 870	16 413	14 832
	Total	20 662	20 291	18 805	17 765	17 324	16 028

-	Masters Chambers
	Interlocutory hearings^**	27 250	27 684	24 882	24 407	24 798	22 549
	Taxation bills	643	654	681	448⁽¹⁾	426⁽¹⁾	527⁽¹⁾
-	Probate
	Applications	19 127	18 368	20 477	18 583⁽²⁾	18 189⁽²⁾	19 537⁽²⁾

*	Case disposal refers to appeals which have been allowed, dismissed, withdrawn, discontinued or abandoned with or without court order; criminal cases where defendants have been convicted or acquitted; and civil cases where claims have been successfully made or dismissed
^{^}	A new case type created to capture criminal miscellaneous matters before the Court of First Instance with effect from 1 July 2017. Its caseload was formerly subsumed under High Court Miscellaneous Proceedings and categorized under civil jurisdiction of First Instance
^@	An existing case type revised to exclude miscellaneous matters before the Court of Appeal and criminal miscellaneous matters before the Court of First Instance with effect from 1 July 2017
⁺	Cases include bankruptcy proceedings, companies winding-up proceedings, applications for Interim Order (Bankruptcy) and applications to set aside Statutory Demands
^#	Other cases include constitutional and administrative law proceedings, admiralty actions, adoptions, bill of sale registrations, book debt registrations, commercial actions, construction and arbitration cases, matrimonial causes, applications under the Mental Health Ordinance, probate actions, stop notices and confidential miscellaneous proceedings (civil) (an existing case type revised to include confidential matters in civil nature before the Court of First Instance which came to the effect on 26 June 2017)
**	The caseload figure represents the number of interlocutory applications listed with hearings, and the disposal figure represents the number of the interlocutory applications heard in the reporting period
	Note (1) : Case disposal refers to taxation bills processed
	Note (2) : Case disposal refers to grants issued/grants resealed/estates administration completed by the Official Administrator in summary manner

AVERAGE WAITING TIME FOR CASES IN THE HIGH COURT

		Average Waiting Time (days)
		Target	2015	2016	2017
Court of Appeal
-	Criminal - from setting down of a case to hearing	50	53	46	47
-	Civil - from application to fix date to hearing	90	112	86	89
Court of First Instance
-	Criminal Fixture List - from filing of indictment to hearing*	120	272	291	164
-	Criminal Running List - from setting down of a case to hearing*	90	81	96	111
-	Civil Fixture List - from application to fix date to hearing	180	140	155	163
-	Civil Running List - from not-to-be-warned date to hearing	30	7	13	16
-	Appeals from Magistrates' Courts - from lodging of Notice of Appeal to hearing	90	100	105	91

Upon the new Practice Direction 9.3 on Criminal Proceedings in the Court of First Instance takes effect on 12 June 2017, 'Criminal Expedited List' has replaced the 'Criminal Running List'. Target waiting times of 'Criminal Fixture List' and 'Criminal Expedited List' will be reviewed and determined in mid-2018

Caseload, Case Disposal and Waiting Time at Different Court Levels

Competition Tribunal

CASELOAD AND CASE DISPOSAL OF THE COMPETITION TRIBUNAL

		Caseload			Disposal*
		2015	2016	2017	2015	2016	2017
-	Application for Review	0	0	0	0	0	0
-	Enforcement Action	0	0	2	0	0	0
-	Action	0	0	0	0	0	0
-	Miscellaneous Proceedings	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total	0	0	2	0	0	0

The Competition Tribunal commenced operation on 14 December 2015
*	Case disposal refers to applications / claims which have been successfully made or dismissed

AVERAGE WAITING TIME FOR CASES IN THE COMPETITION TRIBUNAL

As there is only one case being set down for trial/substantive hearing in the Competition Tribunal, the waiting time is inapplicable. The target average waiting time will be considered when more cases are set down for trial/substantive hearing at the Tribunal

Caseload, Case Disposal and Waiting Time at Different Court Levels

District Court

CASELOAD AND CASE DISPOSAL OF THE DISTRICT COURT

		Caseload			Disposal*
		2015	2016	2017	2015	2016	2017
-	Criminal Jurisdiction
	Criminal Cases	1 118	1 215	1 156	1 009	1 075	1 050
-	Civil Jurisdiction
	Civil	5 950	6 269	5 815	4 122	4 650	4 893
	Tax Claim	1 585	1 679	1 658	1 413	1 259	1 657
	Distress for Rent	3 658	4 265	3 623	3 645	4 232	3 628
	Employee's Compensation	2 799	2 929	2 939	2 586	2 647	2 804
	Other civil cases ⁺	6 354	6 760	6 515	5 549	5 904	5 799
	Sub-total	20 346	21 902	20 550	17 315	18 692	18 781
-	Family Jurisdiction
	Matrimonial Causes	16 652	16 966	17 006	15 544	12 961	14 782
	Joint Applications	4 815	4 988	6 296	4 531	4 235	4 612
	Miscellaneous Proceedings	284	273	266	284	257	242
	Adoption Applications	83	70	66	76	62	62
	Sub-total	21 834	22 297	23 634	20 435⁽¹⁾	17 515⁽¹⁾	19 698⁽¹⁾
	Total (Civil)	42 180	44 199	44 184	37 750	36 207	38 479
	Total	43 298	45 414	45 340	38 759	37 282	39 529

-	Masters Chambers
	Interlocutory hearings^**	7 618	7 976	7 502	6 084	6 491	6 500
-	Taxation bills
	Divorce	1 407	1 011	1 013	978	1 209	905
	Others	392	459	466	165	173	142
	Sub-total	1 799	1 470	1 479	1 143⁽²⁾	1 382⁽²⁾	1 047⁽²⁾
	Total	9 417	9 446	8 981	7 227	7 873	7 547

*	Case disposal refers to those where defendants have been convicted or acquitted and those where claims have been successfully made or dismissed
+	Other civil cases include Miscellaneous Proceedings, Stamp Duty (Ordinance) Appeals, Equal Opportunities Actions, Personal Injuries Cases, Occupational Deafness (Compensation) Appeals, Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Appeals and Estate Agents Appeals
**	The caseload figure represents the number of interlocutory applications listed with hearings, and the disposal figure represents the number of the interlocutory applications heard in the reporting period
	Note (1) : Case disposal refers to Decree Absolute granted and Adoption orders made
	Note (2) : Case disposal refers to taxation bills processed

AVERAGE WAITING TIME FOR CASES IN THE DISTRICT COURT

		Average Waiting Time (days)
		Target	2015	2016	2017
Criminal - from first appearance of defendants in District Court to hearing		100	79	118	152
Civil Fixture List - from date of listing to hearing		120	101	99	102
Civil Running List - from not-to-be-warned date to hearing		30	12	15	25
Dissolution of marriage - from setting down of a case to hearing
-	Special Procedure List	35	34	34	34
-	Defended List (all hearings)	110	93	65	85
-	Financial applications - from setting down of a case to hearing	110-140	91	86	95

Caseload, Case Disposal and Waiting Time at Different Court Levels

Lands Tribunal

CASELOAD AND CASE DISPOSAL OF THE LANDS TRIBUNAL

		Caseload			Disposal*
		2015	2016	2017	2015	2016	2017
-	Appeal cases	227	252	482	235	194	238
-	Compensation cases	9	17	6	5	8	4
-	Building management cases	386	297	281	271	272	248
-	Tenancy cases	4 098	4 047	3 811	3 270	3 359	3 031
-	Lands compulsory sale applications	18	11	15	14	15	23
-	Miscellaneous proceedings applications	2	5	58	2	5	5
	Total	4 740	4 629	4 653	3 797	3 853	3 549

*	Case disposal refers to appeals which have been allowed or dismissed and trials or hearings which have been concluded

AVERAGE WAITING TIME FOR CASES IN THE LANDS TRIBUNAL

		Average Waiting Time (days)
		Target	2015	2016	2017
From setting down of a case to hearing
-	Appeal cases	90	36	30	-*
-	Compensation cases	90	63	41	60
-	Building management cases	90	36	35	44
-	Tenancy cases	50	28	26	23

*	As there is no appeal case filed, the waiting time is inapplicable

Caseload, Case Disposal and Waiting Time at Different Court Levels

Magistrates' Courts

CASELOAD AND CASE DISPOSAL OF THE MAGISTRATES' COURTS

		Caseload			Disposal *
		2015	2016	2017	2015	2016	2017
-	Charge Cases	33 299	31 440	30 860	32 969	31 554	30 550
-	Hawker Cases	7 710	4 988	1 963	7 712	4 988	1 965
-	Departmental & Private Summonses	179 425	181 670	179 753	178 830	178 042	179 223
-	Driving-Offence Points Summonses	2 086	1 786	2 333	2 020	1 901	2 213
-	Fixed Penalty Summonses (Traffic)	606	611	606	614	611	617
-	Fixed Penalty Summonses (Public Cleanliness and Obstruction)^{^}	115	112	115	126	113	115
-	Fixed Penalty Summonses (Smoking Offences)	15	29	34	19	28	27
-	Fixed Penalty Summonses (Vehicle Idling)	0	0	0	0	0	0
-	Fixed Penalty Summonses (Mandatory Window Inspection)	1	6	8	1	6	5
-	Fixed Penalty Summonses (Plastic Shopping Bag)⁺	0	3	2	0	2	3
-	Miscellaneous Proceedings	11 212	11 213	11 379	11 619	11 378	11 511
-	Departmental Notice	613	810	677	649	755	748
-	Fixed Penalty Notice (Traffic)	78 978	98 383	107 958	76 227	95 398	106 287
-	Fixed Penalty Notice (Public Cleanliness and Obstruction)^{^}	2 169	2 142	2 455	2 128	2 206	2 407
-	Fixed Penalty Notice (Smoking Offences)	775	846	823	792	796	872
-	Fixed Penalty Notice (Vehicle Idling)	0	0	0	0	0	0
-	Fixed Penalty Notice (Mandatory Window Inspection)	1	4	11	0	5	11
-	Fixed Penalty Recovery Order (Plastic Shopping Bag)⁺	1	5	0	1	5	0
	Total	317 006	334 048	338 977	313 707	327 788	336 554

*	Case disposal refers to cases where defendants have been convicted or acquitted after trial or hearing, pre-hearing payments of all penalties and costs, and applications which have been granted, refused, withdrawn or struck out
⁺	New case types pursuant to section 28A of the Product Eco-responsibility Ordinance, Cap. 603 came into effect on 1 April 2015
^{^}	Case types renamed pursuant to the amendment of the title of Cap. 570 from "Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness Offences) Ordinance" to "Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness and Obstruction) Ordinance" which came into effect on 24 September 2016

AVERAGE WAITING TIME FOR CASES IN THE MAGISTRATES' COURTS

		Average Waiting Time (days)
		Target	2015	2016	2017
Summonses - from plea to date of trial		50	67	67	65
Charge cases except for Juvenile Court - from plea to date of trial
-	For defendants in custody	30-45	39	36	31
-	For defendants on bail	45-60	49	41	40
Charge cases for Juvenile Court - from plea to date of trial
-	For defendants in custody	30-45	72	49	-*
-	For defendants on bail	45-60	60	39	48

*	As there is no charge case for the Juvenile Court where the defendant is remanded in custody, the waiting time is inapplicable

Caseload, Case Disposal and Waiting Time at Different Court Levels

Labour Tribunal

CASELOAD AND CASE DISPOSAL OF THE LABOUR TRIBUNAL

		Caseload			Disposal*
		2015	2016	2017	2015	2016	2017
-	Claims	4 006	4 326	4 015	3 639	4 048	4 048
-	Reviews	79	78	86	77	77	86
-	Restore claims	38	46	68	39	43	62
-	Set-aside awards	56	81	80	59	60	78
	Total	4 179	4 531	4 249	3 814	4 228	4 274

*	Case disposal refers to claims which have been concluded, including claims awarded, dismissed, settled, withdrawn and transferred

AVERAGE WAITING TIME FOR CASES IN THE LABOUR TRIBUNAL

		Average Waiting Time (days)
		Target	2015	2016	2017
-	From appointment to filing of a case	30	30	27	26
-	From filing of a case to first hearing	30	25	26	24

Caseload, Case Disposal and Waiting Time at Different Court Levels

Small Claims Tribunal

CASELOAD AND CASE DISPOSAL OF THE SMALL CLAIMS TRIBUNAL

		Caseload			Disposal*
		2015	2016	2017	2015	2016	2017
-	Claims	49 775	49 169	51 012	50 570	48 794	51 509
-	Reviews	311	216	223	288	206	224
	Total	50 086	49 385	51 235	50 858	49 000	51 733

*	Case disposal refers to claims which have been made successfully or dismissed

AVERAGE WAITING TIME FOR CASES IN THE SMALL CLAIMS TRIBUNAL

		Average Waiting Time (days)
		Target	2015	2016	2017
-	From filing of a case to first hearing	60	35	34	32

Caseload, Case Disposal and Waiting Time at Different Court Levels

Obscene Articles Tribunal

CASELOAD AND CASE DISPOSAL OF THE OBSCENE ARTICLES TRIBUNAL

		Caseload			Disposal*
		2015	2016	2017	2015	2016	2017
-	Articles for determination	3 459	0	0	3 459	0	0
-	Articles for classification	819	226	174	823	222	179
-	Articles for review	5	0	4	5	0	2
-	Articles for reconsideration	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total	4 283	226	178	4 287	222	181

*	Case disposal refers to those articles which have been determined or classified; those in respect of which determination or classification is not required with consent of both parties; and those in respect of which determination or classification has been reviewed or reconsidered

AVERAGE WAITING TIME FOR CASES IN THE OBSCENE ARTICLES TRIBUNAL

		Average Waiting Time (days)
		Target	2015	2016	2017
-	From referral by a magistrate to determination	21	18	-^#	-^#
-	From receipt of application to classification	5	4	3	3
-	From receipt of application to review	35	41	-^{^}	29
-	From receipt of application to reconsideration	35	- *	- *	- *

	^#		As there is no application for determination filed, the waiting time is inapplicable
	^{^}		As there is no application for review filed, the waiting time is inapplicable
	*		As there is no application for reconsideration filed, the waiting time is inapplicable

Caseload, Case Disposal and Waiting Time at Different Court Levels

Coroner's Court

CASELOAD AND CASE DISPOSAL OF THE CORONER'S COURT

		Caseload			Disposal*
		2015	2016	2017	2015	2016	2017
-	Death inquests with jury	86	66	124	93	63	112
-	Death inquests without jury	7	17	7	7	14	5
	Total	93	83	131	100	77	117

*	Case disposal refers to death inquests concluded

AVERAGE WAITING TIME FOR CASES IN THE CORONER'S COURT

		Average Waiting Time (days)
		Target	2015	2016	2017
-	From date of listing to hearing	42	35	39	79

Membership List of
the Civil Justice Reform Monitoring Committee

-	Chairman	Chief Judge, High Court
-	Members	The Hon Mr Justice S C POON, JA Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court
		The Hon Mr Justice H C AU Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
		The Hon Mr Justice Mohan T BHARWANEY Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
		Registrar, High Court
		Chief District Judge
		Registrar, District Court
		His Honour Judge C M LEUNG Master, High Court
		Mr Herbert LI Department of Justice
		Mr Thomas Edward KWONG, JP Legal Aid Department
		Mr Kumar RAMANATHAN, SC Hong Kong Bar Association
		Mr Brian GILCHRIST Law Society of Hong Kong
		Mr John BUDGE, SBS, JP
		Miss Emma LAU Judiciary Administrator
-	In Attendance	Mrs Erika HUI Deputy Judiciary Administrator (Operations)
-	Secretary	Ms Wendy CHEUNG Assistant Judiciary Administrator (Development)1

Membership List of the Working Party on Mediation

-	Chairman	The Hon Mr Justice Johnson LAM, V-P
-	Members	The Hon Mr Justice Barnabas FUNG, GBS Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
		The Hon Mr Justice H C AU Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
		The Hon Madam Justice B. CHU Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
		The Hon Mr Justice David LOK Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
		Mr LUNG Kim-wan Registrar, High Court
		His Honour Judge Justin KO Acting Chief District Judge
		Mr Simon LEE Department of Justice
		Mr Chris CHONG Legal Aid Department
		Ms Elaine LIU Hong Kong Bar Association
		Mrs Cecilia WONG Law Society of Hong Kong
		Mr CHAN Bing-woon, SBS, JP
-	In Attendance	Mrs Erika HUI Deputy Judiciary Administrator (Operations)
		Ms April LAM Senior Mediation Affairs Officer
-	Secretary	Ms Eva KONG Mediation Affairs Officer (2)

Membership List of the Court Users' Committees

Admiralty Court Users’ Committee

-	Chairman	The Hon Mr Justice Peter NG Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court (up to 26.4.2017)
		The Hon Mr Justice Anthony CHAN Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court (w.e.f. 27.4.2017)
-	Members	Mr LUNG Kim-wan Registrar, High Court
		Mr Bill AMOS
		Mr Nigel BINNERSLEY
		Ms Brenda CHARK
		Mr Jeevan HINGORANI
		Mr Andrew HORTON
		Mr Jim JAMES
		Mr Matthew LAM
		Mr George LAMPLOUGH
		Mr Damien LARACY
		Mr William LEUNG
		Mr Rory MACFARLANE
		Mr Nicholas MALLARD
		Mr Peter MILLS
		Mr Chris POTTS
		Mr Jason TOMS
		Mr Sam TSUI
		Mr Richard WILMOT
		Mr Colin WRIGHT
		Mr Jon W. ZINKE
		Mr Sunny KWAN Chief Bailiff (Administration and Admiralty)
-	In Attendance	Mrs Erika HUI Deputy Judiciary Administrator (Operations)
-	Secretary	Ms Winifred CHAN Chief Judiciary Executive (Operations)

Civil Court Users' Committee

-	Chairman	The Hon Mr Justice Johnson LAM, V-P Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court
-	Members	The Hon Mr Justice S C POON, JA Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court
		The Hon Mr Justice Godfrey LAM Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
		The Hon Mr Justice Anderson CHOW Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
		Mr LUNG Kim-wan Registrar, High Court
		His Honour Judge Justin KO Acting Chief District Judge
		Mr Francis KWAN Department of Justice
		Ms Sherman CHEUNG Legal Aid Department
		Ms Ophelia LOK Official Receiver's Office
		Mr Paul SHIEH, SC
		Mr Brian W. Gilchrist
		Mr Peter CHUA
-	In Attendance	Mrs Erika HUI Deputy Judiciary Administrator (Operations)
		Mr M K LAM Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judge)2 (Up to 4.12.2017)
		Mr Kenneth LIU Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judge)1 (w.e.f. 5.12.2017)
-	Secretary	Ms Winifred CHAN Chief Judiciary Executive (Operations)

Sub-Committee on Companies and Insolvency Matters of the Civil Court Users’ Committee

-	Chairman	The Hon Mr Justice Jonathan R HARRIS Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
-	Members	The Hon Mr Justice Peter NG Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
		Master Reuden LAI
		Master K H HUI
		Mr William MF WONG, SC
		Mr HO Man-kei, Keith
		Mr Mat NG
		Ms Agnes MAK
		Ms Ophelia LOK Official Receiver's Office
		Mr Joseph HUI Companies Registry
-	In Attendance	Mrs Erika HUI Deputy Judiciary Administrator (Operations)
		Mr M K LAM Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judge)2 (up to 4.12.2017)
		Mr Kenneth LIU Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judge)1 (w.e.f. 5.12.2017)
-	Secretary	Ms Winifred CHAN Chief Judiciary Executive (Operations)

Criminal Court Users' Committee

-	Chairman	The Hon Mr Justice Louis TONG, SBS Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court (up to 22.2.2017)
		The Hon Madam Justice Anthea PANG Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court (w.e.f. 23.2.2017)
-	Members	The Hon Mrs Justice Judianna W L BARNES Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court (up to 22.2.2017)
		The Hon Mr Justice Andrew CHAN Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
		The Hon Madam Justice Anthea PANG Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court (up to 22.2.2017)
		The Hon Mr Justice Albert WONG Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court (w.e.f. 23.2.2017)
		Mr LUNG Kim-wan Registrar, High Court
		His Honour Judge Justin KO Acting Chief District Judge
		Mr LEE Hing-nin, Clement Chief Magistrate
		Mr William TAM, SC Department of Justice
		Ms Juliana O Y CHAN Legal Aid Department
		Ms Grace WONG The Duty Lawyer Service
		Mr TONG Wing-tak, Eric Independent Commission Against Corruption
		Mr CHOI Yuk-kwong, Donnie Hong Kong Police Force (up to 15.9.2017)
		Mr LEE Wai-man Hong Kong Police Force (w.e.f. 16.9.2017)
		Mr WOO Ying-ming, Danny Correctional Services Department (up to 20.8.2017)
		Mr WONG Kwok-hing Correctional Services Department (w.e.f. 21.8.2017)
		Mr WONG Man-kit, SC (up to 22.2.2017)
		Mr Graham HARRIS, SC (w.e.f. 23.2.2017)
		Mr Kenneth NG
		Mr HO Yat-wan, Alec
-	In Attendance	Mrs Erika HUI Deputy Judiciary Administrator (Operations)
		Miss Hedy WU Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judge)3 (up to 31.7.2017)
		Mr Calvin YAU Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judge)3 (w.e.f. 1.8.2017)
-	Secretary	Ms Winifred CHAN Chief Judiciary Executive (Operations)

Family Court Users' Committee
(Up to 30.11.2017)

-	Chairman	His Honour Judge Bruno CHAN Principal Family Court Judge (up to 17.7.2017)
-	Members	His Honour Judge Justin KO Acting Chief District Judge
		His Honour Judge C K CHAN Acting Principal Family Court Judge (w.e.f. 18.7.2017)
		Her Honour Judge Sharon D MELLOY Family Court Judge
		Mr LI Chi-keung, Ben Legal Aid Department
		Mr FUNG Man-chung Social Welfare Department
		Ms Jacqueline LEONG, SC
		Ms Corinne REMEDIOS
		Mr Jonathan MOK
		Mr Dennis HO
		Ms Jain BROWN
-	In Attendance	Mrs Erika HUI Deputy Judiciary Administrator (Operations)
		Ms Jackie LUI Chief Judicial Clerk (Family Court)
-	Secretary	Ms Winifred CHAN Chief Judiciary Executive (Operations)

Family Proceedings Court Users' Committee
(w.e.f. 1.12.2017)

-	Chairman	The Hon Mr Justice Johnson LAM, V-P Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court
-	Members	The Hon Madam Justice B. CHU Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
		Mr LUNG Kim-wan Registrar, High Court
		His Honour Judge C K CHAN Acting Principal Family Court Judge
		Her Honour Judge Sharon D MELLOY Family Court Judge
		His Honour Judge Ivan WONG Family Court Judge
		Mr Dick HO Registrar, District Court
		Ms Corinne REMEDIOS
		Mr Dennis HO
		Ms Jain BROWN
		Mr FUNG Man-chung Social Welfare Department
		Mr LI Chi-keung, Ben Legal Aid Department
		Ms CHAN Miu Kuen, Juliana Official Solicitor's Office
-	In Attendance	Mrs Erika HUI Deputy Judiciary Administrator (Operations)
		Ms Jackie LUI Chief Judicial Clerk (Family Court)
-	Secretary	Ms Winifred CHAN Chief Judiciary Executive (Operations)

Competition Tribunal Users' Committee

-	Chairman	The Hon Mr Justice Godfrey LAM President of the Competition Tribunal
-	Members	The Hon Madam Justice Queeny AU YEUNG Deputy President of the Competition Tribunal
		Master K H HUI Master, High Court
		Mr Francis KWAN Department of Justice
		Mr Philip MONAGHAN Competition Commission
		Mr Benson CHENG Office of Communications Authority
		Mr P Y LO
		Mr NG Sing-yip, Kenneth
-	Secretary	Miss Priscilla WONG Senior Judicial Clerk I (Competition Tribunal)

Membership List of the Governing Body of the Hong Kong Judicial Institute

-	Chairman	The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA, GBM Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal
-	Members	The Hon Mr Justice R A V RIBEIRO Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal
		The Hon Mr Justice Frank STOCK, GBS Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal
		The Hon Mr Justice Andrew CHEUNG Chief Judge of the High Court
		The Hon Madam Justice Carlye CHU Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court
		The Hon Mr Justice Andrew CHAN Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
		The Hon Madam Justice Mimmie CHAN Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
		Deputy High Court Judge Tony POON Judge with special responsibility for the Executive Body of the Hong Kong Judicial Institute
		His Honour Judge Justin KO Acting Chief District Judge
		Mr LEE Hing-nin, Clement Chief Magistrate
		Miss Emma LAU Judiciary Administrator

Judiciary Administration

Miss Emma LAU , Judiciary Administrator

Operations Division

Mrs Erika HUI, Deputy Judiciary Administrator (Operations)

(a)	Information Technology Office (Technical)	Mr Kenneth YEUNG	Chief Systems Manager (Information Technology)
(b)	Information Technology Office (Operational)	Mr Wilson CHIU	Assistant Judiciary Administrator (Quality and Information Technology) [up to 12.11.2017]^{Note 1}
		Mr Harry TSANG	Acting Assistant Judiciary Administrator (Quality and Information Technology) [w.e.f. 13.11.2017]^{Note 1}
(c)	Operations Division	Mr Francis CHENG	Acting Assistant Judiciary Administrator (Operations) [w.e.f. 27.12.2017]
		Ms Winifred CHAN	Acting Chief Judiciary Executive (Operations) [up to 9.1.2017]
		Ms Winifred CHAN	Chief Judiciary Executive (Operations) [w.e.f. 10.1.2017]
(d)	Support to Judges Section	Mr Kenneth LIU	Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judges)1 [up to 31.7.2017]
		Ms Hedy WU	Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judges)1 [from 1.8.2017 to 4.12.2017]
		Mr Kenneth LIU	Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judges)1 [w.e.f. 5.12.2017]
		Mr M K LAM	Acting Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judges)2 [up to 3.12.2017]
		Ms Hedy WU	Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judges)2 [w.e.f. 5.12.2017]
		Ms Peggy CHAN	Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judges)3 [up to 12.3.2017]
		Mr Calvin YAU	Chief Judicial Clerk (Small Claims Tribunal) [temporarily sharing the duties of Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judges)3 from 13.3.2017 to 2.4.2017]
		Ms Hedy WU	Acting Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judges)3 [from 3.4.2017 to 31.7.2017]
		Mr Calvin YAU	Acting Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judges)3 [w.e.f. 1.8.2017]
		Mr Kenneth LIU	Chief Judiciary Executive (Support to Judges)(Special Duties) [from 1.8.2017 to 4.12.2017]
(e)	Clerk of Court's Office	Mrs Pamela PANG	Clerk of Court
(f)	Court of Final Appeal Registry	Ms Wendy CHUI	Senior Judicial Clerk I (Court of Final Appeal)
(g)	High Court Registry	Ms Catherine LI	Chief Judicial Clerk (High Court Registry)
(h)	Competition Tribunal Registry	Ms Priscilla WONG	Senior Judicial Clerk I (Competition Tribunal)
(i)	District Court	Mr Barry LEE	Chief Judicial Clerk (Registry, District Court) [up to 5.2.2017]
		Mr Joe CHENG	Acting Chief Judicial Clerk (Registry, District Court) [w.e.f. 6.2.2017]
		Ms Clare TSANG	Acting Chief Judicial Clerk (Courts, District Court)
(j)	Family Court Registry	Ms Jackie LUI	Chief Judicial Clerk (Family Court)
(k)	Lands Tribunal Registry	Mr Joe CHENG	Acting Chief Judicial Clerk (Lands Tribunal) [up to 5.2.2017]
		Ms Elsa CHAN	Chief Judicial Clerk (Lands Tribunal) [w.e.f. 6.2.2017]
(l)	Magistrates' Courts General Office	Ms Elsa CHAN	Senior Judiciary Executive (Magistracies) [up to 5.2.2017]
		Ms Pauline KWOK	Acting Senior Judiciary Executive (Magistracies) [w.e.f. 6.2.2017]
(m)	Probate Registry	Ms Memory WONG	Chief Probate Officer
(n)	Labour Tribunal Registry	Ms Wendy SHUM	Registrar (Labour Tribunal)
(o)	Small Claims Tribunal Registry	Mr Calvin YAU	Chief Judicial Clerk (Small Claims Tribunal) [up to 31.7.2017]
		Mr Jackson CHAN	Acting Chief Judicial Clerk (Small Claims Tribunal) [w.e.f. 1.8.2017]
(p)	Court Language Section	Ms Celina WONG	Chief Judiciary Executive (Court Language)1 [up to 25.6.2017]
		Mr Brian YAU	Acting Chief Judiciary Executive (Court Language)1 [w.e.f. 26.6.2017]
		Ms Millia TANG	Chief Judiciary Executive (Court Language)2
		Ms Patience IP	Chief Judiciary Executive (Court Language)3
(q)	Bailiff Section	Mr Sunny KWAN	Chief Bailiff (Administration and Admiralty)
		Mr T M CHOI	Chief Bailiff (Operations) [up to 31.3.2017]
		Ms F L CHIM	Acting Chief Bailiff (Operations) [w.e.f. 3.4.2017]
(r)	Mediation Section	Ms April LAM	Senior Mediation Affairs Officer
		Mrs Heidy KWONG	Mediation Coordinator (Family)
(s)	Information Technology Office (Technical)	Mr Kenneth CHAN	Acting Senior Systems Manager (1) [up to 13.6.2017]
		Mr Kenneth CHAN	Senior Systems Manager (1) [w.e.f. 14.6.2017]
		Ms Candy CHAN	Senior Systems Manager (2)
		Mr Kelly LAU	Senior Systems Manager (3)
		Mr Jeffrey FUNG	Senior Systems Manager (4)
(t)	Information Technology Office (Operational)	Mr James WONG	Senior Judiciary Executive (Information Technology Office)1
		Ms Hedy WU	Senior Judiciary Executive (Information Technology Office)2 [up to 2.4.2017]
		Ms Carol FUNG	Acting Senior Judiciary Executive (Information Technology Office)2 [w.e.f. 3.4.2017]
		Ms Mimi HO	Senior Judiciary Executive (Information Technology Office)11 [temporarily sharing the duties of Senior Judiciary Executive (Information Technology Office)3 from 5.12.2016 to 15.1.2017]
		Ms Carol FUNG	Senior Judiciary Executive (Information Technology Office)12 [temporarily sharing the duties of Senior Judiciary Executive (Information Technology Office)3 from 5.12.2016 to 15.1.2017]
		Ms Carol FUNG	Acting Senior Judiciary Executive (Information Technology Office)3 [from 16.1.2017 to 2.4.2017]
		Mr Jackson CHAN	Acting Senior Judiciary Executive (Information Technology Office)3 [from 3.4.2017 to 31.7.2017]
		Ms Mimi HO	Acting Senior Judiciary Executive (Information Technology Office)3 [w.e.f. 1.8.2017]
		Mrs Joanne WONG	Senior Judiciary Executive (Information Technology Office)13 [temporarily sharing the duties of Senior Judiciary Executive (Information Technology Office)4 from 8.9.2016 to 5.2.2017]
		Mr Barry LEE	Senior Judiciary Executive (Information Technology Office)4 [w.e.f. 6.12.2017]

Development Division

Ms Patricia SO, Deputy Judiciary Administrator (Development)

(a)	Development Office	Ms Wendy CHEUNG	Assistant Judiciary Administrator (Development)1
		Mr David LAU	Assistant Judiciary Administrator (Development)2
(b)	Press & Public Relations Office	Ms Daisy KWOK	Principal Information Officer
(c)	Secretariat for Complaints against Judicial Conduct	Ms Lilian PO	Acting Chief Judiciary Executive (Secretariat for Complaints against Judicial Conduct)

Quality Division

Mr Wilson CHIU, Assistant Judiciary Administrator (Quality and Information Technology) [up to 12.11.2017]
Mr Harry TSANG, Acting Assistant Judiciary Administrator (Quality and Information Technology) [w.e.f. 13.11.2017]

(a)	Complaints Office	Ms Crystal LEE	Senior Judiciary Executive (Complaints)
(b)	Court Reporters Office	Ms Maggie CHENG	Senior Court Reporter (Development)
(c)	Legal Reference and Library Section	Ms Miranda FUNG	Senior Judiciary Executive (Legal Reference and Library)
(d)	Management Information Section	Ms Eva LEE	Senior Judiciary Executive (Management Information) [up to 15.1.2017]
		Ms Shirley LAU	Acting Senior Judiciary Executive (Management Information) [w.e.f. 16.1.2017]
(e)	Management Review Section	Mr William CHUNG	Chief Judiciary Executive (Management Review)

Corporate Services Division

Mrs Connie NGAN, Assistant Judiciary Administrator (Corporate Services)

(a)	Project Planning and Accommodation Section	Mr Hermes CHAN	Acting Principal Executive Officer (Project Planning and Accommodation) [up to 3.1.2017]
		Mr Hermes CHAN	Principal Executive Officer (Project Planning and Accommodation) [w.e.f. 4.1.2017]
(b)	Finance Section	Mr Raymond NG	Acting Chief Treasury Accountant
(c)	Judges and Judicial Officers Section	Ms Olivia TSANG	Chief Judiciary Executive (Judges and Judicial Officers) [up to 5.5.2017]
		Ms Emily CHENG	Senior Judiciary Executive (Judges and Judicial Officers)1 [temporarily sharing the duties of Chief Judiciary Executive (Judges and Judicial Officers) from 8.5.2017 to 30.5.2017]
		Ms Linda LAM	Senior Judiciary Executive (Judges and Judicial Officers)2 [temporarily sharing the duties of Chief Judiciary Executive (Judges and Judicial Officers) from 8.5.2017 to 30.5.2017]
		Ms Tiffany CHENG	Senior Executive Officer (Judicial Institute) [temporarily sharing the duties of Chief Judiciary Executive (Judges and Judicial Officers) from 8.5.2017 to 30.5.2017]
		Ms Queenie LEUNG	Acting Chief Judiciary Executive (Judges and Judicial Officers) [w.e.f. 31.5.2017]
(d)	Support Staff Section	Ms Ivy TANG	Chief Judiciary Executive (Support Staff)


Note 1:	Assistant Judiciary Administrator (Quality and Information Technology) reports to the Judiciary Administrator direct in respect of areas of his portfolio other than those related to Information Technology Office (Operational).

Judicial Training

Local Judicial Training Activities Organised by the Hong Kong Judicial Institute

Date	Activity
31.3.2017	Magistrates’ Workshop on “Skills on handling Self Represented Parties”
9.6.2017	Coroners’ Workshop
5.7.2017	Workshop on Wellbeing
6.7.2017	Talk entitled “Restating the Common Law – the American Law Institute” by the Hon Mr Justice Robert FRENCH, AC, Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal
21.9.2017	Talk entitled “Things to note in an urgent habeas corpus application” by the Hon Mr Justice Thomas AU, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
16.10.2017	Talk entitled “Contractual Interpretation: Do Judges Sometimes Say One Thing and Do Another?” by The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey VOS, Chancellor of the High Court of England and Wales
21.10.2017	Visit to Shek Kwu Chau Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre of the Society for the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers
26 - 27.10.2017	Induction Course for Newly Appointed Permanent Magistrates 2017
26.10.2017	Talk entitled “Arrest and Release of Vessels – a simple roadmap” by the Hon Mr Justice Anthony CHAN, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
27.10.2017	Talk entitled “Online courts, AI and the future of justice” by Professor Dame Hazel GENN, Co-Director of the UCL Judicial Institute, Faculty of Laws, University College London
23.11.2017	Talk entitled “Mareva Injunctions and Other Urgent Injunctions” by the Hon Mr Justice Godfrey LAM and the Hon Mr Justice Anderson CHOW, Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
24.11.2017	Talk entitled “Mareva Injunctions, Anton Piller Orders and Miscellaneous Applications” by the Hon Mr Justice Godfrey LAM and the Hon Mr Justice Anderson CHOW, Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
19.12.2017	Briefing session on “Neutral Citation and Legal Reference System”

Other Local Judicial Training Activities Attended by Judges and Judicial Officers

Date	Activity
18.2.2017	The 2nd Guardianship Conference of Hong Kong, organised by the Guardianship Board
30.3.2017	Lecture entitled “Case Management and Family Law”, organised by the University of Hong Kong
5.4.2017	Talk entitled “The latest development of recognition and enforcement of foreign judgment: from an international perspective”, organised by the Asian Academy of International Law
7.4.2017	Seminar entitled “Judging, Diversity and Sensitivity in Family Law – One Judge’s Views”, organised by the University of Hong Kong
27.4.2017	Seminar entitled “Detecting Collusion among Competitors – Economic Evidence”, organised by the University of Hong Kong
8 - 11.5.2017	Training programme entitled “Handling Expert Witnesses (Financial and Medical)”, organised by the Hong Kong Advocacy Training Council
4.7.2017	Talk entitled “Real World Goals – Convergence and Cross-Fertilisation in Commercial Law” by the Hon Mr Justice Robert FRENCH, AC, Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, organised by the Hong Kong Chapter, Law Council of Australia
22.8.2017	Talk entitled “UK Defamation Act 2013 – Strengths and Weaknesses”, organised by the Hong Kong Bar Association
29.8.2017	Talk entitled “Quality of Death – Law & Ethics”, organised by the New Medico-Legal Society of Hong Kong
31.8.2017	Talk entitled “Politics, Secrecy and the Rule of Law”, organised by the Hong Kong Bar Association
13.9.2017	Lecture entitled “Judges, Access to Justice, the Rule of Law and the Court of Final Appeal under ‘One Country Two Systems’” by The Rt Hon the Lord NEUBERGER of Abbotsbury, Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, organised by the University of Hong Kong
21.9.2017	Lecture entitled “Law Reform Challenges: The Judicial Perspective”, organised by the Chinese University of Hong Kong
18.10.2017	2nd UNCITRAL Asia Pacific Judicial Summit 2017, organised by the Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, Department of Justice and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre
20.11.2017	Lecture entitled “Judicial Review: Does it Help or Hinder Good Administration?”, organised by the University of Hong Kong
15.12.2017	Lecture entitled “Illegality and Statute - Where to Now?” by Mr Justice GUMMOW, Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, organised by the University of Hong Kong

Judicial Training Activities Organised with/by Other Jurisdictions/Organisations

Date	Activity
17 - 22.3.2017	The Twelfth Multinational Judicial Colloquium on Insolvency, co-organised by the INSOL International, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the World Bank Group and the Tenth Quadrennial Congress of INSOL International in Sydney, Australia
5 - 7.4.2017	7th Annual Competition Law Workshop for Asia-Pacific Judges in Manila, the Philippines, organised by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development / Korea Policy Centre
18 - 20.6.2017	International Insolvency Institute’s 17th Annual Conference in London, England
31.10 - 3.11.2017	Asia Pacific Coroners’ Society Conference in Glenelg, South Australia
5 - 9.11.2017	8th International Conference on the Training of the Judiciary of the International Organisation for Judicial Training in Manila, the Philippines

Number of Visits and Visitors to the Judiciary

	2016	2017
Local
No. of visits	239	273
No. of visitors	7 704	8 640
The Mainland
No. of visits	42	31
No. of visitors	771	643
Overseas
No. of visits	30	26
No. of visitors	280	395
Total
No. of visits	311	330
No. of visitors	8 755	9 678

	Number of Visitors
Category of Visitors	2016	2017
Judges and legal profession	444	566
Government officials	196	136
Students and others	8 115	8 976
Total	8 755	9 678

Expenditure and Revenue of the Judiciary in 2016-2017

Recurrent Expenditure

		2016-2017 ($' 000)
-	Personal Emoluments	1,108,681
-	Departmental Expenses	395,832
-	Other Charges	9,046
	Total	1,513,559

Revenue*

		2016-2017 ($' 000)
-	Fees & Charges	225,672
-	Fines	276,955
-	Forfeitures & Others	128,890
	Total	631,517

*	Revenue collected by the Judiciary forms part of the Government's General Revenue

Complaints against Judges and Judicial Officers

Number of Complaints Disposed of by the Chief Justice and the Court Leaders	Nature of Complaints				2017 Total
	Judicial / Statutory Decision	Judicial Conduct	Both Judicial / Statutory Decision and Judicial Conduct	Dissatisfaction with the Court Leader’s handling and / or findings of the original complaints	2017 Total
Chief Justice	5	0	0	10	15
Chief Judge of the High Court	29	0	0	NA	29
Chief District Judge	20	2	5	NA	27
Chief Magistrate	43	4	10	NA	57
Sub-total	97	6	15	10	128

Notes:

The total number of cases filed in 2017 is 485,303.

ii.

Complaints related to judicial conduct can be broadly classified according to their nature. Among complaints on judicial conduct above, 5 cases are related to attitude and behavior in court, 7 cases are related to handling of actual proceedings in court, and 9 cases are related to mixed nature.

iii.

Among the complaints above, there are 4 partially justified cases, with 2 related to the undesirable attitude and behavior in court, 1 related to handling of actual proceedings in court and 1 related to mixed nature. Details of the 4 cases are as follows:

(a)	The complainant complained that a Magistrate maintained poor attitude in the court and towards defendants, as well as using inappropriate wording in the proceedings. The Court Leader found that there was room for improvement on the part of the Magistrate in handling unrepresented defendant. The Court Leader also found that some of the wording used by the Magistrate in the proceedings were inappropriate. The Court Leader had given advice to the Magistrate accordingly.
(b)	The complainant complained that a Magistrate maintained poor attitude towards the representative of the complainant’s company, refused the representative of the complainant’s company to give evidence and adjourned the hearing and claimed that costs would be ordered against the complainant’s company. The Court Leader had given advice to the Magistrate to pay more attention to his manner and wording in explaining the legal proceedings. The Court Leader also found that the Magistrate adjourned the hearing so that the complainant’s company could arrange another representative who could understand their document or evidence. In addition, the decision of adjourned hearing and order of costs were judicial decisions. If the complainant’s company was aggrieved by the judicial decision, it could only be appealed through existing legal procedures.
(c)	The complainant complained that a Magistrate failed to conduct the hearing in a fair manner and was biased against the complainant, failed to analyze the case and the evidence, threatened the complainant to plead guilty by citing most serious punishment, and questioned the complainant four to five times and was playing the role as the prosecutor during the proceedings. Well before the receipt of the complaint, the Court Leader had received the judgment of High Court related to the appeal from this case. After reviewing the relevant materials and the full judgment, the Court Leader found that the Magistrate’s wording and conduct was inappropriate and may undermine the perception of impartiality. The Court Leader had given advice to the Magistrate accordingly. Regarding the complainant’s view about the Magistrate’s analysis of evidence, it was a matter of judicial decision and was dealt with in the High Court judgment.
(d)	The complainant complained that a Magistrate maintained poor attitude to the complainant, witness and prosecutor, led the prosecutor to use suggestive interrogation when examining the parties, examined the witness with leading questions and failed to give the complainant a fair trial. The Court Leader found that there was room for improvement in respect of the Magistrate’s attitude. The Court Leader had given advice to the Magistrate accordingly. Other allegations raised against the Magistrate were related to the judicial decisions. If the complainant was aggrieved by the judicial decision, it could only be appealed through existing legal procedures. The complainant did exercise his right to appeal to the High Court, which was subsequently dismissed.

Complaints against the Judiciary Administration

	Nature of Complaints	2017*
-	Complaints about procedures	42
-	Complaints about facilities	8
-	Complaints about the judicial support services	71
-	Complaints against staff of the Judiciary Administration	46
	Total	167

*	Oral complaints included