Background to the Study
(a) The Changed Demand
2.
There has been a major increase in the Judiciary's business in the last ten years as shown by the following table :-
Number of Cases Filed
1975
1985
% Increase
Court of Appeal
Crime:
350
551
+57.4
Civil:
62
206
+232.3
High Court
Crime:
123
262
+113.0
Civil:
4,643
12,873
+177.3
Family Court
Divorce:
893
5,047
+465.2
District Court
Crime:
490
1,360
+177.6
Civil:
27,177
52,990
+95.0
Small Claims Tribunal
1,031) 1976
32,681
+3,069.8
Lands Tribunal
36) figures
1,959
+5,341.7
Labour Tribunal
2,027
4,660
+129.9
Magistracies
558,427
Coroner's Court
4,931
€54,146
5,591
+17.1
+13.4
3.
in recent years is The development of Hong Kong itself
Its relevance here is that the self-evident and fully recorded. judicial system has necessarily also developed to meet the increasing demands ef growth. Today's population has grown to 5.5 million; it was Alsc of great significance 2 million in 1951 and 3.7 million in 1966.
is economic development. In the last twenty years liong Kong has become a place of high international importance in all aspects of finance and commerce and a major international trading port with its cwn industries The activities of all that enterprise and its own export business.
create a demand for the resclution of disputes higher than the size of
And the population would
many disputes need speedy
also a demand for high judicial quality.
resolution.
There is
indicate.
Business cannot afford long legal delays or lack of confidence in the
courts.