ENG-1999 — Page 62

THE LEGAL SYSTEM

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The Law Society is the governing body for solicitors and foreign lawyers and foreign law firms in the HKSAR. It has wide responsibilities for maintaining professional and ethical standards and for considering complaints against these legal professionals.

Hong Kong has more than 750 practising barristers, whose governing body is the Hong Kong Bar Association. Their conduct and etiquette are governed by the Code of Conduct for the Bar of the HKSAR.

The Judiciary

A key element in the success and continuing attraction of the HKSAR is that its judicial system operates on the principle, fundamental to the common law system, of the independence of the judiciary from the executive and legislative branches of government. The courts make their own judgments, whether disputes before them involve private citizens, corporate bodies or the government itself.

The Court of Final Appeal is the highest appellate court in the HKSAR. The court is headed by the Chief Justice. There are three Permanent Judges and a panel of 11 Non-permanent Hong Kong Judges and six Non-permanent Judges from other common law jurisdictions. In hearing and determining appeals, the court may, as required, invite a Non-permanent Hong Kong Judge or a Non-permanent Judge from other common law jurisdictions to sit on the court. The Chief Justice is the head of the Judiciary. He is assisted in the overall administration by the Judiciary Administrator.

The High Court, comprising the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance, is headed by the Chief Judge of the High Court. Sitting in the High Court, in addition to the Chief Judge are nine Justices of Appeal and 25 Judges of the Court of First Instance. The court's Registrar and Deputy Registrars serve as Masters of the High Court in civil trials in the Court of First Instance.

The Court of Appeal hears civil and criminal appeals from the Court of First Instance and the District Court. The Court of First Instance's jurisdiction is unlimited in both civil and criminal matters. Civil matters are usually tried by Court of First Instance Judges sitting without juries, 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 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 Magistrate, there are 10 Principal Magistrates, 59 Magistrates and 10 Special Magistrates sitting in 10 magistracies. Magistrates exercise criminal jurisdiction over a wide range of offences. There is a general limit of two years' imprisonment or a fine of $100,000. Specific statutory provisions empower the magistrates to impose sentences up to three years' imprisonment or fines of $5 million. They also try cases