THE LEGAL SYSTEM
repealed. The exempted ordinances are: the Immigration Ordinance, the Societies Ordinance, the Crimes Ordinance, the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, the Independent Commission Against Corruption Ordinance and the Police Force Ordinance. The Legislative Council may extend the period of the exemption for a further
any or all of these ordinances.
year in respect of
To complement the protection afforded by the Bill of Rights, the Letters Patent for Hong Kong have been amended so as to ensure that no law can be made in Hong Kong that restricts the rights and freedoms enjoyed in Hong Kong in a manner which is inconsistent with the ICCPR as applied to Hong Kong. The amendment came into operation on the same day as the Bill of Rights.
Judiciary
The Chief Justice of Hong Kong is head of the Judiciary. He is assisted in his administrative duties by the Registrar, seven Deputy Registrars and one Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court. The Assistant Registrar is designated Chief Magistrate.
The Judiciary operates on the principle, fundamental to the common law system, of complete independence from the executive and legislative branches of government. This applies equally whether a dispute is between the government and an individual, or whether it involves only private citizens or corporate bodies.
The most senior court in Hong Kong is the Supreme Court, comprising the Court of Appeal and the High Court. Sitting in the Supreme Court in addition to the Chief Justice are nine Justices of Appeal and 20 High Court Judges. The Registrar and Deputy Registrars also have jurisdiction as Masters of the Supreme Court in civil trials in the High Court. The jurisdiction of the High Court is unlimited in both civil and criminal matters, and the Court of Appeal is the highest court in Hong Kong. The Court of Appeal hears both civil and criminal appeals from the High Court and from the District Court. Further appeal lies to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London; however this is infrequent as leave to appeal is granted only on stringent conditions.
High Court Judges usually sit alone when trying civil matters, although there is a rarely-used provision for jury trials in certain cases including defamation. For criminal trials they sit with a jury of seven, or nine on special direction of the judge. The issue of guilt is determined by the jury, which must have a majority of at least five to two, except with charges attracting a death sentence when unanimity is required.
The District Court has both civil and criminal jurisdiction. Its civil jurisdiction is limited to disputes of a value up to $120,000, and its criminal jurisdiction up to seven years' imprisonment. Its judges sit without a jury and may try the more serious cases, save principally for murder, manslaughter and rape, which are reserved to the High Court. There are 31 Judges of the District Court.
The Magistrates' Courts try annually some 90 per cent of all the cases heard in the territory. There are 60 professional magistrates sitting in 10 magistracies, two of which are on Hong Kong Island, four in Kowloon and four in the New Territories.
Magistrates have a purely criminal jurisdiction covering a wide range of offences. Professional magistrates are generally restricted in sentence to two years' imprisonment and $10,000 fine, however a number of statutes allow increased sentences. Professional magistrates also try cases in the Juvenile Court, which has jurisdiction in charges against children and young persons up to 16 years, except in cases involving homicide.
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