214
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
The year was notable for another busy period in the Magistrates' Courts with five functioning on Hong Kong Island, six (including one Evening Court) in Kowloon and one in the New Territories. The table of figures below shows once again that the courts in Kowloon dealt with substantially more cases than the Hong Kong
courts.
Statistics of work in the Magistracies are as follows:
Hong Kong Kowloon
New Territories
Total
Total number of summary matters (charges, summonses and applica- tions, etc.)...
79,822
123,517
5,936 209,275
Total number of defendants (adult
and juvenile)
81,473
126,933
7,003 215,409
Total number of defendants con-
victed (adult and juvenile)
77,173
122,364
5,854 205,391
Total number of adult defendants
76,412
120,236
6,992 --203,640
Total number of adult defendants
convicted ...
72,160
115,705
5,843
193,708
Total number of juvenile defendants
5,061
6,697
11
11,769
Total number of juvenile defendants
convicted
5,013
6,659
11
11,683
Total number of Charge Sheets
issued
37,491
77,559 2,571
117,621
Total number of summonses issued
43,138
44,594 3,145
90,877
In the Tenancy Tribunal, the number of applications made for determination of rent payable, or for approval of agreed rental in excess of the permitted [rent, totalled 1,101 as against 1,121 for 1958. The number of exemption cases filed was 855 for 1959, the figures for the past three years being 1,004 for 1956, 1,410 for 1957 and 1,409 for 1958. These applications are brought under the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, under which an applicant, wishing to obtain exemption from the Ordinance in respect of certain buildings, brings proceedings before a tribunal for that purpose. These tribunals consist of a president (who has legal qualifications) and two lay members chosen from a panel appointed by the Chief Justice. During the year no less than 174 of these lay members rendered valuable service on the tribunals. Although the number of these cases filed during the year showed a substantial decrease when compared with previous years, an