This Report provides an overview of the major events of the Judiciary in 2019.

In view of the heavy workload, the Judiciary continued to conduct open recruitment exercises for Judges and Judicial Officers (“JJOs”) at the High Court, District Court and Magistrates’ Courts with a view to tackling the shortfall in judicial manpower.

The year saw the passage of the legislative amendments for extending the retirement age of JJOs. An extension of the statutory retirement age for JJOs will encourage recruitment of the best legal talents to the Judiciary, as well as help retain experienced serving JJOs. Furthermore, progress has been made on the proposed legislative amendments to streamline procedures of the High Court and facilitate the more efficient handling of cases, including those relating to non-refoulement claims. We hope that the relevant legislative process will be able to be completed and the streamlined procedures implemented by 2020.

The Intellectual Property List of the Court of First Instance of the High Court was established on 6 May 2019. With the setting up of the List, specialist Judges are assigned to handle and better manage intellectual property cases. This will in the long run reduce costs and the time needed for the resolution of this type of dispute.

The upsurge in the number of court cases arising from recent events has posed new challenges to the Judiciary. We will try to deal with cases expeditiously and efficiently as far as practicable while at the same time ensuring that they are handled fairly and strictly in accordance with the law.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank members of the community, the Government and the Legislative Council for their invaluable support for the work of the Judiciary. I would also like to express my gratitude to my fellow judges and judicial officers, as well as staff in the Judiciary for their dedication and professionalism in the face of increasing challenges.

This Report 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