Hong Kong High Court

The high court of Hong Kong (known as the Supreme Court before the transfer of sovereignty and renamed after 1997 due to the conflict with the supreme law of China) is a court of Hong Kong judiciary, which consists of two parts: the court of first instance and the court of appeal. The court of first instance is the highest court of first instance in Hong Kong. It has unlimited jurisdiction to hear any civil and criminal proceedings in Hong Kong and to handle appeals from some special courts, except for acts of state related to the national defense and foreign affairs of the people's Republic of China. Apart from the court of final appeal, the court of appeal is the highest court of appeal in Hong Kong. It deals with appeals from the court of first instance, the district court and the lands tribunal.

The statue on the top of the Legislative Council building is very famous and eye-catching in Hong Kong TV series! For example, if you are familiar with the following TVB dramas: the first court series, the third court series, the new king of law and politics, the inside story 2002, etc!

Hong Kong High Court

The high court of Hong Kong (known as the Supreme Court before the transfer of sovereignty and renamed after the handover in 1997 due to the conflict with the Supreme People's Court of China) is a court of Hong Kong judiciary, which consists of two parts: the court of first instance and the court of appeal.

The court of first instance is the highest court of first instance in Hong Kong. It has unlimited jurisdiction over all civil and criminal proceedings in Hong Kong, as well as appellate proceedings from some special courts, in addition to acts of state concerning national defense and foreign affairs of the people's Republic of China. Apart from the court of final appeal, the court of appeal is the highest court of appeal in Hong Kong. It deals with appeals from the court of first instance, the Hong Kong District Court and the lands tribunal.

Organization setup

The High Court consists of the court of appeal and the court of first instance. It has appellate and first instance jurisdiction and can hear appeals and first instance cases.

The right of appeal is an important part of the legal system in Hong Kong, because higher courts can review the decisions of lower courts. The purpose of the appeal system is to ensure that any alleged error in the course of a court hearing or even an investigation, or in connection with a court hearing, can be corrected by appeal to a higher court.

Appeal mechanisms in the high court, competition tribunal, district court and Lands Tribunal

Appeal mechanism in magistrates' courts and tribunals

*The court of first instance may reserve an appeal or any point in an appeal for consideration by the court of appeal and may direct that the debate on the appeal or point of appeal be held in the court of appeal.

appeals court

Criminal and civil appeals before the court of appeal originate from the court of first instance, the competition tribunal, the district court, the lands tribunal, and the tribunals and statutory bodies designated by the relevant ordinances.

Criminal appeal

If a defendant in a criminal case is convicted and refuses to accept the judgment of the court of first instance or the district court judge, he may apply to the court of appeal for leave to appeal within 28 days from the date of conviction / sentence. If the defendant fails to appeal within the time limit, he may apply to the court of appeal for leave to appeal beyond the time limit.

The defendant may appeal against the conviction or sentence alone or at the same time. The defendant shall file a notice of appeal (form XI) setting out the grounds of appeal with the appeal registry in the office of the clerk of the high court within the time limit. The form can be obtained from the appeal registry of the high court building or the court where the defendant is serving his sentence. There is no charge for filing the notice of appeal.

When the preliminary appeal documents are ready, the registrar will send them to the parties. If a party asks for other documents, they will be made available and sent to the parties concerned with the approval of the Registrar of appeals or the directing judge.

The judge handling the appeal may make an appearance to confirm that the case is ready and a date will be set for the hearing of the application for leave to appeal.

The court of appeal may decide to refuse or grant leave to appeal by examining the documents submitted or after a hearing. Thereafter, the court of appeal, consisting of two or three judges of the court of appeal, may orally declare the appeal dismissed or allowed, and / or issue or read a judgment on another date.

If the appeal is successful, the sentence can be reduced; but if the appeal is unsuccessful, the court of appeal may increase the sentence or order that the time of the appellant's detention be excluded from the sentence.

Civil appeal

Generally speaking, an appellant may appeal to the court of appeal against a decision of a judge of the court of first instance or the competition Tribunal on a final matter, which is an ex officio right. However, an appellant may not appeal against a decision of the following in a civil case:

(a) A decision of a district judge (unless leave to appeal has been obtained); and;

(b) A decision of a judge of the court of first instance on an interlocutory matter (unless leave to appeal has been obtained); and;

(c) A decision of a judge of the court of first instance on costs alone (unless leave to appeal has been obtained); and;

(d) A decision of a judge of the competition Tribunal on an interlocutory matter (unless leave to appeal has been obtained); and;

(e) A decision of a judge of the competition Tribunal on costs only (unless leave to appeal has been obtained); and;

(f) Decision of the Lands Tribunal (unless it relates to a point of law and leave to appeal has been granted)

An application for leave to appeal shall be made to the judge or master of each court who made the decision.

With regard to items (a) and (f), if the decision is an interlocutory decision, the applicant should apply for leave to appeal within 14 days after the decision is made; if it is not an interlocutory decision, the applicant should apply within 28 days.

With regard to items (b), (c), (d) and (E), the applicant should apply for leave to appeal within 14 days after the decision is made.

If the judge refuses to grant leave to appeal, the applicant may apply to the court of appeal for leave to appeal within 14 days from the date of refusal. The court of appeal may, in giving leave to appeal, impose such terms as to costs, security, etc., as it thinks fit. Whether permission is granted or not, the decision of the court of appeal is final and non appealable. After obtaining the leave to appeal, the appellant shall serve the notice of appeal on the respondent and the lower court within 7 days.

If it is not necessary to apply for leave to appeal, the appellant shall, unless otherwise provided by other ordinances or rules, serve a notice of appeal on the respondent and the lower court within 28 days after the decision appealed against is made.

Upon completion of the service of the notice of appeal, the appellant shall, within seven days, submit to the Registrar a sealed copy of the judgment or order appealed against, a written reason for the judgment and two notices of appeal. One notice of appeal shall state the court fees paid and the other the date on which the notice was served on the other party.

Notice of the scheduled hearing must be sent to the parties served with the notice of appeal within 4 days after the scheduled hearing of the appeal.

In an appeal, the parties must prepare an appeal in accordance with the relevant court's practice instructions, and the appellant without legal representation must prepare an appeal in accordance with the specific instructions given by the civil appeals Registrar before filing an application for setting a date for the hearing of an appeal. The Registrar of civil appeals may give directions either in writing or orally.

The appellant shall file an application for setting a date for the hearing of an appeal with the appeal registry in the office of the clerk of the high court building. Information on the application form and how to prepare the appeal can be obtained from the unrepresented litigants resource centre of the high court building.

When the Registrar of civil appeals gives a direction to schedule a hearing, the scheduling officer will set a date for the hearing. When an appeal is heard by the court of appeal, it is usually heard by three judges of the court of appeal, but sometimes by two judges.

If a party is a limited company, a lawyer must be employed to represent the company unless the company has made an application and obtained the permission of the high court registrar to be represented by a director of the company.

chinese

An appeal may be made in one of the two official languages, Chinese or English. Unless the appellant applies to the court of appeal for the use of another official language, the appeal is usually conducted in the language in which the trial was conducted. The court of appeal may grant or refuse an application for the use of another official language and the decision taken is final.

Further appeal

Any party who refuses to accept the judgment of the court of appeal may apply for permission to appeal to the court of final appeal. Please refer to the "court of final appeal" pamphlet for details.

court of first instance

As mentioned above, the court of first instance has appellate and original jurisdiction, covering both criminal and civil cases.

Appellate jurisdiction

Appeals from Magistrates

The court of first instance is responsible for hearing criminal appeals from magistrates' courts.

If the defendant is not satisfied with the magistrate's decision, he may appeal to the court of first instance within 14 days after the magistrate's decision.

The defendant shall file the notice of appeal with the clerk of the trial magistrate.

Chinese PinYin : Xiang Gang Gao Deng Fa Yuan