Caseload, Case Disposal and Waiting Time at Different Court Levels



►CASELOAD AND CASE DISPOSAL OF THE HIGH COURT

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CaseloadDisposal *
202220232024202220232024
Court of Appeal
Appellate
Criminal
Appeals from the Court of First Instance
757582877285
Appeals from the District Court
161171190159178179
Sub-total236246272246250264
Civil
Appeals from the Court of First Instance
466413537479331414
Appeals from the District Court
18101572215
Miscellaneous Appeals
171625271417
Sub-total501439577513367446
Review of Sentences
Criminal
Reviews from the Court of First Instance
310240
Reviews from the District Court
834883
Reviews from the Magistrates' Courts
210520
Sub-total135415143
Total750690853774631713
Miscellaneous Proceedings556381249534421340
Other cases #001300
*Case disposal refers to appeals/reviews which have been allowed, dismissed, withdrawn, discontinued or abandoned with or without a court order
#Other cases include Secretary for Justice's Reference and Reservation of Question of Law which statistics are provided in the Annual Report since 2024
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CaseloadDisposal *
202220232024202220232024
Court of First Instance
Appellate
Criminal
Appeals from Magistrates' Courts460496506614351539
Civil
Appeals from Labour Tribunal183248211737
Appeals from Small Claims Tribunal 424175554962
Appeals from Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board410320
Miscellaneous Appeals762244
Sub-total71801258172103
Total531576631695423642
First Instance
Criminal Jurisdiction
Criminal Cases223446452237301371
Confidential Miscellaneous Proceedings883749698883749698
Application for Discharge 000000
Miscellaneous Proceedings (Criminal)6378821 012581833980
Sub-total1 7432 0772 1621 7011 8832 049
Civil Jurisdiction
High Court Actions1 8582 1132 5861 0481 1641 444
Miscellaneous Proceedings2 2082 4882 8261 5351 6301 876
Bankruptcy & Companies Winding-up+ 7 8609 13410 9587 9828 90410 518
Personal Injuries Actions 341367375427348323
Other cases#2 0742 9123 2561 7161 9372 340
Sub-total 14 34117 01420 00112 70813 98316 501
Total16 08419 09122 16314 40915 86618 550
Masters Chambers
Interlocutory hearings**19 11420 93824 23615 62118 74121 455
Taxation bills475414437422(1)403(1)324(1)
Probate
Applications23 00626 29828 33521 890(2)23 718(2)26 609(2)
*Case disposal refers to appeals which have been allowed, dismissed, withdrawn, discontinued or abandoned with or without a court order; criminal cases where defendants have been convicted or acquitted; and civil cases where claims have been successfully made or dismissed
+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, Confidential Miscellaneous Proceedings (Civil), Intellectual Property (a new case type created to capture intellectual property matters before the Court of First Instance with effect from 6 May 2019. Its caseload was formerly subsumed under High Court Actions or High Court Miscellaneous Proceedings and categorized under civil jurisdiction of the Court of First Instance) and High Court Reciprocal Enforcement Cases (a new case type created for handling registration applications made under the Mainland Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance (Cap. 645), Order 71 and Order 71A of The Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A) and Mainland Judgments in Matrimonial and Family Cases (Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement) Ordinance (Cap. 639) in the Court of First Instance with effect from 29 January 2024)
**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

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*A new Practice Direction on criminal proceedings in the Court of First Instance of the High Court was promulgated in June 2017 to enhance management of criminal proceedings. Having regard to the new procedures under the Practice Direction, consideration is being given to review how the average waiting time for the Criminal Fixture List should be measured. In addition, the Criminal Expedited List has replaced the Criminal Running List. The way to measure the average waiting time of the Criminal Expedited List and the setting of its target are being considered in the light of the operation of the new measures