Part-time Deputy Judges are appointed on a temporary basis by the Chief Justice.[11][12]
It is not uncommon for a person to sit as a Recorder or Deputy High Court Judge prior to appointment as a full-time High Court Judge.
Newly-appointed High Court judges with previous service as the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Department of Justice are subject to a 'sanitisation' period of 6 months upon appointment. During this period, the judge does not deal with any criminal trials or appeals or any civil cases involving the Government to maintain judicial independence and impartiality.[13][14]
Upon appointment as a full-time High Court Judge, one must give an undertaking not to return to practise in future as a barrister or solicitor in Hong Kong.[15]
The remuneration of High Court Judges is determined by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the independent Standing Committee on Judicial Salaries and Conditions of Service. As of 1 April 2017, a full-time Judge of the Court of First Instance receives a monthly salary of HK$292,650, while a Justice of Appeal receives a monthly salary of HK$307,050. The Chief Judge of the High Court receives a monthly salary of HK$340,600. Further, full-time Judges are provided with housing in Judiciary Quarters or, alternatively, a housing allowance at HK$163,525 per month.[15] As of 1 April 2020, Recorders and Deputy High Court Judges receive honoraria at a daily rate of HK$11,765.
The retirement age of full-time High Court Judges is 70. However, the term of office can be extended further up to the age of 75.[16]
Full-time High Court judges are given the prefix 'the Honourable' and referred to as 'Mr/Madam/Mrs Justice [surname]'. The Chief Judge of the High Court may be referred to in writing by adding the post-nominal 'CJHC'. Vice Presidents of the Court of Appeal may be referred to in writing by adding the post-nominal 'VP'. Justices of Appeal may be referred to in writing by adding the post-nominal "JA".
In 1995, Mrs Justice Doreen Le Pichon was the first woman to be appointed as a High Court judge.[18] She subsequently became the first woman to be appointed as a Justice of Appeal in 2000.[19][20] In 2019, Madam Justice Susan Kwan was the first woman to be appointed as Vice President of the Court of Appeal.[21]
The current full-time judges of the High Court (as at 9 August 2024) are (ranked according to the priority of their respective appointments; Senior Counsels indicated by an asterisk *):[22][23]
*The Hon Madam Justice Linda Chan Ching-fan (Judge in charge of the Companies and Insolvency List)
The Hon Mr Justice Johnny Chan Jong-herng
*The Hon Madam Justice Anna Lai Yuen-kee, BBS
*The Hon Madam Justice Yvonne Cheng Wai-sum
The Hon Mr Justice Herbert Au-Yeung Ho-wing
The Hon Madam Justice Winnie Tsui Wan-wah
The Hon Mr Justice Leung Chun-man
The Hon Mr Justice Douglas Yau Tak-hong
The Hon Mr Justice Anthony Kwok Kai-on
The Hon Madam Justice Amanda Jane Woodcock
*The Hon Mr William Tam Yiu-ho
A Justice of Appeal may sit as an additional Judge of the Court of First Instance.[24][Note 1] A Judge of the Court of First Instance may also hear cases in the Court of Appeal,[25] including as a single Judge (for example, when determining applications for leave to appeal in criminal cases).[26]
Cases in the Court of First Instance are usually heard by a single Judge, though important cases may be heard by a bench consisting of more than one Judge, although this is very rare.[27][Note 2] This practice is similar to the English High Court, where important cases may be heard by a divisional court consisting of a three- or two-member bench.
All judges of the Court of First Instance also serve as members of the Competition Tribunal.[28] The President and Deputy President of the Competition Tribunal (currently Mr Justice Harris and Madam Justice Au-Yeung respectively) are appointed by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission.
High Court judges also serve a number of other public service roles. It is a statutory requirement that the Electoral Affairs Commission be headed by a chairman who is a High Court judge (currently Mr Justice Lok)[31] appointed by the Chief Executive in consultation with the Chief Justice.[32] The Electoral Affairs Commission must appoint a Judge of the Court of Final Appeal or a High Court Judge to act as returning officer for elections for the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.[33] Similarly, it is a statutory requirement that the Chief Executive appoint a serving or retired High Court judge to be Commissioner on Interception of Communications and Surveillance (currently Mr Justice Suffiad).[34][35] The Chief Executive also appoints three to six Judges of the Court of First Instance (currently Mr Justice Fung, Mr Justice Bharwaney and Madam Justice Lisa Wong)[36] on the recommendation of the Chief Justice to serve as panel judges handling interception and surveillance authorisation requests from law enforcement agencies.[37] Further, it is a statutory requirement that the Chief Executive appoint at least 2 serving or retired High Court Judges as members of the Long-term Prison Sentences Review Board.[38] At present, Mr Justice Pang Kin-kee and Mr Justice Wilson Chan are President and Deputy President respectively of the Long-term Prison Sentences Review Board.[39] It is also a statutory requirement that the Chief Executive appoint a retired High Court Judge, District Judge or magistrate as Chairman of the Appeal Board on Public Meetings and Processions (currently Mr Justice Pang Kin-kee).[40][41] In addition, it is a statutory requirement that the Chief Executive appoint a serving or retired High Court Judge or Deputy High Court Judge to chair the Market Misconduct Tribunal (MMT) and the Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal (SFAT).[42] At present, Mr Justice Lunn (former Vice President of the Court of Appeal), Mr Justice Hartmann (former Justice of Appeal), Kenneth Kwok SC (former Recorder of the Court of First Instance) and Judge Tallentire (former Deputy High Court Judge) are Chairmen of the MMT and SFAT.[43]
A number of serving and retired Hong Kong High Court Judges also sit as Supreme Court Judges in Brunei. For example, while Mr Justice Rogers served as Vice President of the Hong Kong Court of Appeal, he also sat as a non-resident Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam between 2010 and 2011.[47][48] As of 2019, three retired Hong Kong High Court Judges sit as Judges of the Court of Appeal of Brunei Darussalam (Mr Justice Burrell, who is the President of the Brunei Court of Appeal, and Mr Justice Seagroatt and Mr Justice Lunn, who are Justices of Appeal);[49][50] two retired Hong Kong High Court Judges sit as Judicial Commissioners of the High Court of Brunei Darussalam (Mr Justice Findlay and Mr Justice Lugar-Mawson).[51] Another retired Hong Kong Judge, Edward Woolley, who previously sat as a Deputy High Court Judge and High Court Master,[52][53] also sits as a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam.[54]
Recorders
Recorders of the court of first instance of the high court are practitioners in private practice (in practice, Senior Counsel) who are appointed for a fixed term of a few years and sit for a few weeks in a year. Recorders may exercise all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of a full-time Judge of the Court of First Instance.[55]
The recordership scheme was introduced in 1994 to encourage experienced practitioners who are willing to sit as a High Court Judge for a few weeks every year, but are not prepared to commit themselves to a permanent, full-time appointment. It was intended to act as a more formal system of appointment compared to the more ad hoc nature of appointment of Deputy High Court Judges.[56]
The current Recorders of the Court of First Instance of the High Court (as at 1 August 2024) are (ranked according to the priority of their respective appointments):[22][23]
Mr Eugene Fung Ting-sek, SC of Temple Chambers
Mr Martin Hui Siu-ting, SC of Plowman Chambers
Ms Sit Yat-wah, SC of Temple Chambers
Ms Rachel Lam Yan-kay, SC of Des Voeux Chambers
Mr Wong Ming-fung, SC of Des Voeux Chambers
Mr Victor Dawes, SC of Temple Chambers
Mr Richard Khaw Wei-kiang, SC of Temple Chambers
Mr José-Antonio Maurellet, SC of Des Voeux Chambers
Mr Abraham Chan Lok-shung, SC of Temple Chambers
Mr Pao Jin-long, SC of Temple Chambers
Ms Maggie Wong Pui-kei, SC of Plowman Chambers
Mr Derek Chan Ching-lung, SC of Plowman Chambers
Mr Jenkin Suen, SC of Des Voeux Chambers
Part-time Deputy Judges
The Chief Justice appoints on a temporary basis a number of serving full-time District Court Judges, retired High Court Judges[Note 3] and practitioners in private practice (in general, barristers who are Senior Counsel or solicitors who are senior partners with litigation experience) to sit as part-time Deputy High Court Judges.[11][12][57] Before 1983, the position of Deputy High Court Judge was known as Commissioner.[58]
A Deputy High Court Judge may exercise all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of a full-time Judge of the Court of First Instance.[59]
In order to ensure judicial independence and impartiality, part-time Judges are not permitted to participate actively in political activities (although membership of a political party is acceptable).[60]
Forms of address
All High Court Judges (regardless of whether they are full-time Judges, Recorders or Deputy Judges on temporary appointment) are addressed in court as "My Lord" or "My Lady".
In court judgments and decisions, Vice Presidents of the Court of Appeal are referred to as '[surname] VP' or '[surname] V-P' (or in the plural as '[surname] and [surname] V-PP'). Justices of Appeal are referred to as '[surname] JA' (or in the plural as '[surname] and [surname] JJA'). Full-time Judges of the Court of First Instance are referred to as '[surname] J' (or in the plural as '[surname] and [surname] JJ'). Recorders are referred to as 'Mr/Madam/Mrs Recorder [surname]' (with the post-nominal 'SC' if they are Senior Counsel). Deputy High Court Judges are referred to either as 'Deputy Judge [surname]', 'Deputy High Court Judge [surname]' or 'DHCJ [surname]' (with the post-nominal 'SC' if they are Senior Counsel).[Note 5] Deputy High Court Judges were previously called Commissioners and were referred to as 'Mr/Madam/Mrs Commissioner [surname]' (with the post-nominal 'Q.C.' if they were Queen's Counsel) in judgments before 1983.[58]
High Court Building
The High Court Building is located at 38 Queensway, Admiralty. The 20-storey building was built in 1985 as the home of the then Supreme Court of Hong Kong, which was renamed in 1997. It was named the Supreme Court Building, and the road leading to its main entrance is still named Supreme Court Road. The High Court Building was designed by Architect K. M. Tseng.
The structure is a white clad tower and has a water fountain outside its front door.
Sometimes, the High Court may sit in another venue.[61] For example, a serving District Judge sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge may hear a case in a courtroom situated in the District Court building. This is similar to England, where the High Court sometimes sits outside London in County Courts which act as High Court District Registries.
Cases
In the Jimmy Lai case, the prosecution asked the High Court for an adjournment from 1 December 2022 to 8 December 2022; the High Court added a few more days and adjourned it until 13 December 2022.[62] On 13 December 2022, the High Court further delayed the trial until September 2023, until after the NPCSC ruled in the matter.[63]
^For example, Z v Director of Legal Aid, HCAL 5/2011, reported at [2011] 4 HKLRD 362, was heard before Mr Justice Reyes and Mr Justice Wright. Kissel v The Long-term Prison Sentences Review Board, HCAL 137/2016, reported at [2018] 2 HKLRD 1270, and A v Chief Executive of HKSAR, HCAL 33/2010, reported at [2013] 4 HKLRD 404, were heard before Mr Justice Au and Mr Justice Andrew Chan.
^Including retired English High Court Judges, such as Sir Richard Field who sat as a Deputy High Court Judge in Hong Kong and decided cases including Diyixian.com Limited v G'Five International Limited, HCA 229/2013, reported at [2016] 5 HKLRD 495.
^This restriction does not apply to serving District Judges sitting as Deputy High Court Judges. For example, Her Honour Judge Amanda Woodcock has decided a number of judicial review cases (such as Hameed Bilal v Torture Claims Appeal Board, HCAL 174/2017), while Judge Kent Yee decided the habeas corpus case of Mohammad Aslam Qureshi v Director of Immigration, HCAL 75/2015. Nor does this restriction apply to retired High Court Judges. For example, Sir Brian Keith (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) decided Building Authority v Appeal Tribunal (Buildings), HCAL 183/2015, reported at [2016] 1 HKLRD 1381. Previously, practitioners in private practice sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge could decide judicial review cases. For example, Robert Kotewall QC decided Chan Lau Fong & Others v Attorney General, HCMP 3232/1990.
^Queen's Counsel sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge may be referred to with the post-nominal 'QC' (including after the resumption of the exercise of sovereignty on 1 July 1997). For example, following retirement from the bench, when Mr Justice Stone sat as a Deputy High Court Judge, he was referred to as Deputy High Court Judge William Stone QC (see 廈門新景地集團有限公司 v Eton Properties Limited and Others, HCCL 13/2011; on appeal in CACV 158/2012, reported at [2016] 2 HKLRD 1106).
^See the press releases announcing the judicial appointments of former DPPs Ian McWalters SC ([1]Archived 2 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine) and Kevin Zervos SC ([2]Archived 15 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine)
^ abReport on Judicial Remuneration Review 2018(PDF) (Report). Standing Committee on Judicial Salaries and Conditions of Service. 20 July 2018. Archived(PDF) from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.