CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
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in the Supreme Court Ordinance and those of district judges in the District Court Ordinance.
The function of the Judiciary is to try all prosecutions and to determine civil dis- putes, whether between individuals or between individuals and the government. The principle of English constitutional law that, in the performance of their judicial acts, members of the Judiciary are completely independent of the executive and legislative organs of the government, is fundamental in Hong Kong. The English common law and the rules of equity are in force in Hong Kong, so far as they may be applicable to local circumstances. English Acts of Parliament are in force in Hong Kong only if applied by the Legislative Council or by their own terms or by an Order in Council. Locally enacted laws of Hong Kong are consolidated and revised periodically.
The courts of justice in Hong Kong are the Full Court, the Supreme Court, the District Court, the Magistrates Courts, the Coroners Courts, the Tenancy Tribunal, the Labour Tribunal and the Land Tribunal. In 1974, the Judiciary had posts for the Chief Justice, the Senior Puisne Judge, eight puisne judges, 10 district judges, 46 magis- trates, three presidents of the Tenancy Tribunal, two presiding officers of the Labour Tribunal and a president of the Land Tribunal.
Magistrates exercise criminal jurisdiction over a wide range of indictable offences as well as summary offences. However, in indictable offences, their powers of punish- ment are restricted to a maximum of two years imprisonment or a $2,000 fine for any one offence, unless the law in regard to any particular offence prescribes that they may impose some higher penalty. Cumulative sentences of imprisonment imposed by magis- trates when trying two or more offences together may not exceed three years. Magis- trates also hold preliminary enquiries to decide whether persons accused of the most serious offences should be committed for trial to the Supreme Court. They also trans- fer criminal cases to the District Court for trial, on the application of the Attorney General. There is a coroner's court on Hong Kong Island and one in Kowloon.
The District Court, established in 1953, provides a simple method of trial of civil disputes in which the value of the subject matter is under $20,000, or $15,000 in the case of land, and also tries criminal cases transferred to it by the magistrates. It exercises appellate jurisdiction in stamp and rating appeals and in Tenancy Tribunal matters, and ordinary jurisdiction under the Distress for Rent Ordinance and the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance. Trial in both civil and criminal proceedings in the District Court is by a judge sitting alone; he may not award more than seven years imprisonment.
The Supreme Court's civil jurisdiction is similar to that of the English High Court. It also exercises jurisdiction in lunacy, bankruptcy and company winding-up matters. The most serious criminal offences are tried by a judge of the Supreme Court sitting with a jury of seven. A summary of cases heard and dealt with in all courts for the years 1972-4 will be found in Appendix 31.
The highest court in Hong Kong is the Full Court, which sits when required and composed of two or three judges of the Supreme Court as the Chief Justice directs. The Chief Justice usually presides over this court, which hears appeals from the
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