ENG-2007 — Page 67

The Legal System | 31

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. And the Government is advised on matters relating to pay and conditions of service of judicial officers by the Independent Standing Committee on Judicial Salaries and Conditions of Service.

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 six non-permanent Hong Kong judges and 10 non-permanent judges from other common law jurisdictions. In hearing and determining appeals, the court will consist of five judges, and 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 27 Judges of the Court of First Instance. The Registrar, Senior Deputy Registrars and Deputy Registrars of the High. Court deal mainly with interlocutory and taxation matters.

The Court of Appeal hears civil and criminal appeals from the Court of First Instance, the District Court and the Lands Tribunal. The Court of First Instance has unlimited jurisdiction in all 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. Criminal offences in the Court of First Instance are tried by a judge with a jury of seven, or when a judge so orders, a jury of nine. The Court of First Instance also hears appeals from the Magistrates' Courts and the Labour and Small Claims Tribunals.

The District Court is one level below the Court of First Instance. It comprises a Chief District Judge and 32 judges. They sit without a jury in criminal and civil proceedings. There are also a Registrar and three Deputy Registrars dealing with interlocutory and taxation matters. The District Court tries criminal cases except murder, manslaughter and rape. The maximum term of imprisonment is seven years. Its general civil jurisdiction is limited to claims up to $1 million, or recovery of land where the rateable value does not exceed $240,000. It has jurisdiction over employees' compensation and matrimonial matters including divorce, custody, maintenance and adoption. It also has jurisdiction to hear stamp duty assessment appeals.

The Magistrates' Courts process about 90 per cent of the cases in Hong Kong annually. Led by the Chief Magistrate, the team consists of seven Principal Magistrates, 63 Permanent Magistrates and 11 Special Magistrates sitting in seven