ENG-2015 — Page 52

2

The Legal System

Conditions of Service. The Chief Justice is the head of the Judiciary, assisted in its overall administration by the Judiciary Administrator.

The Court of Final Appeal, headed by the Chief Justice, is the HKSAR's highest appellate court. There are three permanent judges, four non-permanent Hong Kong judges and 10 non-permanent judges from other common law jurisdictions. In hearing and determining appeals, the court consists of five judges, and the court may, as required, invite a non-permanent Hong Kong judge or a non-permanent judge from another common law jurisdiction to sit on the court. In September 2015, the Court of Final Appeal moved to the Old Supreme Court Building at 8 Jackson Road, Central, from the Former French Mission Building at 1 Battery Path, Central, which had been its home since its establishment in 1997.

The High Court, comprising the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance, is headed by the Chief Judge of the High Court. There are 13 Justices of Appeal and 34 Judges of the Court of First Instance. The Registrar, Senior Deputy Registrars and Deputy Registrars 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, the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board and the Labour and Small Claims Tribunals.

A Competition Tribunal, which has primary jurisdiction to hear and adjudicate competition-related cases, was set up in December 2015. All Judges of the Court of First Instance are members of the Competition Tribunal, while the Registrar, Senior Deputy Registrars and Deputy Registrars of the High Court hold the corresponding positions in the tribunal.

The District Court is one level below the Court of First Instance. It comprises the Chief District Judge, one Principal Family Court Judge and 35 judges. The Registrar and Deputy Registrars deal mainly with interlocutory and taxation matters. The District Court tries criminal cases except murder, manslaughter and rape. The maximum sentencing power is seven years' imprisonment. 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, equal opportunities and matrimonial matters including divorce, custody, maintenance and adoption. It also has jurisdiction to hear stamp duty assessment appeals. There is no jury in any District Court proceedings.

The seven Magistrates' Courts process about 90 per cent of the criminal cases in the HKSAR annually. Led by the Chief Magistrate, the team (excluding Deputy Magistrates and Deputy Special Magistrates) consists of eight Principal Magistrates, 62 Permanent Magistrates and 11 Special Magistrates. Magistrates exercise criminal jurisdiction over a wide range of offences. In general, their sentencing power is limited to two years' imprisonment and a fine of $100,000.

28