THE LEGAL SYSTEM
The Magistrates' Courts try annually some 90 per cent of all the cases heard in the territory. There are 71 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 empowered to impose sentences of up to two years' imprisonment and fines of up to $10,000; however, under a number of statutes, they are empowered to impose higher fines. Professional magistrates also try cases in the Juvenile Court, which has jurisdiction in charges against children and young persons aged up to 16 years, except in cases involving homicide.
In addition to the professional magistrates, there are 11 Special Magistrates, who are not legally qualified. They handle routine cases, such as littering and minor traffic offences, and their powers of sentencing are limited to fining up to $20,000. They are all Cantonese-speaking and usually conduct their cases in that language.
In addition to the principal courts of civil and criminal jurisdiction, there are five specialised tribunals. The Coroner's Court handles inquiries into unusual circumstances causing death. The Small Claims Tribunal hears civil claims of up to a limit of $15,000. The Labour Tribunal hears individual civil claims arising from contracts of employment. The Lands Tribunal has jurisdiction in matters of rating and valuation, and in assessing compensation when land is resumed by the government or reduced in value by development. The Obscene Articles Tribunal has jurisdiction to determine whether or not an article is obscene, and to classify it into statutory categories of acceptability or otherwise.
The Small Claims and Labour Tribunals provide the public with inexpensive recourse to litigation, as their proceedings are informally conducted and professional representation is not permitted.
The official language of the court is English in the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the District Court; in the other courts and tribunals, the court may use Chinese. Whichever language is used, a party or witness in any court in Hong Kong may use Chinese or English or any other language permitted by the court.
It is the government's policy to move towards greater use of Chinese in the courts. A working party, headed by a Justice of Appeal, is looking into the issue.
The government attaches great importance to judicial efficiency. To strengthen the administrative structure of the judiciary, the Working Party on Judiciary Administration was formed in October. Chaired by the Chief Justice, this high-level working party comprises members of the judiciary, the legal profession and the public. It is conducting a thorough review of existing administrative systems to determine how and where improvements can be made.
Three Court Users Committees were appointed by the Chief Justice during the year to advise on matters of concern to users of the courts. The Criminal Court Users Committee, the Civil Court Users Committee and the Tribunal Court Users Committee will look at all matters of practice and procedure, administration of the courts as well as the facilities provided in court buildings.
Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution
Arbitration has been a popular method of dispute resolution in Hong Kong for some time. It is governed by the Arbitration Ordinance, which has two distinct regimes
- a domestic
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