ENG-1997 — Page 72

THE LEGAL SYSTEM

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provision for jury trials in certain cases, including defamation. For criminal trials, they sit with a jury of seven, or sometimes nine on special direction of the Judge.

The District Court is one level below the Court of First Instance. It has a Chief District Judge and 33 Judges, who sit without a jury. The District Court's civil jurisdiction is limited to disputes with a monetary value of up to $120,000. The District Court tries more serious criminal cases but not murder, manslaughter and rape. The maximum term of imprisonment is seven years. It has appellate jurisdiction in stamp duty appeals and in its family jurisdiction decides divorce, adoption and custody matters.

The Magistrates' Courts have the highest volume of cases of all the courts, trying some 90 per cent of the cases heard annually in Hong Kong. Besides one Chief and 10 Principal Magistrates, there are 53 professional magistrates sitting in 10 magistracies. The magistrates exercise criminal jurisdiction over a wide range of offences. Although there is a general limit of two years' imprisonment or a fine of $100,000, many ordinances empower magistrates to impose sentences of up to three years' imprisonment and heavier fines, in some cases up to $5 million. They also try cases in the Juvenile Court, which has jurisdiction in charges against children and young persons up to 16 years, except in cases of homicide. In addition to the professional magistrates, there are 11 Special Magistrates who handle routine cases such as littering and minor traffic offences. Their powers of sentencing are limited to fines of up to $50,000.

In addition to these principal courts of civil and criminal jurisdiction, there are five tribunals. The Lands Tribunal has a special jurisdiction in rating and valuation and assesses compensation when land is resumed by the government or reduced in value by development. The Labour Tribunal hears civil claims arising from contracts of employment. The Small Claims Tribunal hears minor civil claims, up to a limit of $15,000 at present. The Obscene Articles Tribunal determines whether or not an article is obscene, and to classify it into statutory categories of acceptability or otherwise. The Coroner's Court handles inquiries into unusual circumstances causing death.

The Use of Chinese in Courts programme, drawn up by the Steering Committee appointed by the Chief Justice to further the use of Chinese in the higher courts, has been implemented. A bilingual court system in which either or both of the official languages can be used was put in place before June 30, 1997, in accordance with the requirement in Article 9 of the Basic Law.

Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance

Hong Kong has developed a comprehensive system of legal aid to ensure that any person who has reasonable grounds for pursuing or defending a legal action is not prevented from doing so by lack of means. The provision of legal aid services is funded by the government through the Legal Aid Department and the Duty Lawyer Service.

Legal Aid

Legal aid services provided by the Legal Aid Department are available to any person in Hong Kong, resident or non-resident, who is able to satisfy the Director of Legal Aid as to financial eligibility (the means test) and the justification for legal action (the