Judiciary of Hong Kong
The Judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the judicial branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Under the Basic Law of Hong Kong, it exercises the judicial power of the Region and is independent of the executive and legislative branches of the Government. The courts in Hong Kong hear and adjudicate all prosecutions and civil disputes, including all public and private law matters.
The hierarchy of the Hong Kong judiciary from high to low is: the Court of Final Appeal, the High Court, the District Court, and magistrates' courts. There are also some special courts and tribunals set up by law.
The Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal is head of the judiciary and assisted in his administrative duties by the Judiciary Administrator. A bilingual court system in which Chinese, English or both can be used was put in place, in accordance with the requirement of the Basic Law.
The Chief Justice and the judges of the Court of Final Appeal, both permanent and non-permanent, are forbidden by statute from practising as barristers or solicitors in Hong Kong while holding office or after leaving office. High Court and District Court judges are similarly required to undertake that they will not practise as barristers or solicitors in Hong Kong after leaving office, unless permitted by the Chief Executive. There are however no restrictions on becoming an arbitrator or mediator, as former Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma has become both following his retirement.
The Court of Final Appeal
It was established on 1 July 1997 upon the commencement of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance to safeguard the rule of law after 30 June 1997. It replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London as the highest appellate court of Hong Kong. The Court, when sitting, comprises five judges — the Chief Justice, three permanent judges and one non-permanent judge from Hong Kong or another common law jurisdiction. There is, as of 2025, a panel of four non-permanent Hong Kong judges and six non-permanent judges from other common law jurisdictions.Judges of the Court of Final Appeal wear a black robe and a white lace jabot. Unlike High Court and District Court judges, judges of the CFA do not wear wigs.
The High Court
The High Court was established by the High Court Ordinance, as the "Supreme Court of Hong Kong". It was renamed the "High Court" by Article 81 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong. It consists of the Court of Appeal and Court of First Instance, both of which are superior courts of record.High Court judges are referred to as the Honourable Mr/Madam Justice and are addressed as "My Lord" or "My Lady" in court. Judges of the Court of First Instance in civil cases and the Court of Appeal typically wear black silk gowns, bar jackets, wing collars and bands with a short horsehair wig in court, while judges of the Court of First Instance hearing criminal cases will wear a red-and-black gown with bands.
The Court of Appeal
It hears appeals on civil and criminal matters from the Court of First Instance and the District Court, as well as appeals from the Lands Tribunal. It also makes rulings on questions of law referred to it by the lower courts. As of June 2025, there are 13 Justices of Appeal, including the Chief Judge of the High Court and three vice-presidents.For ceremonial occasions, Justices of Appeal wear the full wig, and a black gown with gold lace and a white jabot, similar to what is worn by Lords Justices in England and Wales.
The Court of First Instance
It has unlimited jurisdiction in both civil and criminal matters. It also exercises jurisdiction in admiralty, bankruptcy, company winding-up, family, adoption, probate and mental health matters. The most serious criminal offences, such as murder, manslaughter, rape, armed robbery, complex commercial frauds and drug offences involving large quantities, are tried by a judge of the Court of First Instance, sitting with a jury consisting of seven or, when a judge so orders, nine. As of June 2025, there are 28 full-time judges, 14 part-time recorders, and numerous part-time deputy judges serving on the court.The District Court
The District Court, established in 1953, is the intermediate court of Hong Kong. It has limited jurisdiction in both civil and criminal matters. With effect from 3 December 2018, it has civil jurisdiction to hear monetary claims up to $3 million; or where the claims are for the recovery of land, of which the annual rent or rateable value does not exceed $320,000. In its criminal jurisdiction, the court may try the more serious cases, with the main exceptions of murder, manslaughter and rape. The maximum term of imprisonment it may impose is seven years. There are one Chief District Judge and 30 District Judges, among which three District Judges sit in the Family Court and two District Judges sit in the Lands Tribunal as Presiding Officers.Forms of Address
District Judges are always referred to directly in court as "Your Honour", and indirectly as "His/Her Honour Judge...". The Chief District Judge may be referred to in writing by adding the post-nominal "CDJ" and the Principal Family Court Judge by adding the post-nominal "PFCJ". Other District Court Judges are referred to in writing by adding the pre-nominal "HHJ...".Deputy District Court Judges may be referred to directly in court as "Your Honour" but indirectly they are referred to as "Deputy District Judge...".
Family Court
The Family Court is a division of the District Court which is assigned by the Chief Justice to deal with Family cases. Under section 10A of the Matrimonial Causes Ordinance, all family and matrimonial proceedings commence in the District Court. A Family judge may transfer a case to the High Court if it involves high monetary value claims and/or highly complex matters of fact or law. By section 10A of the Matrimonial Causes Ordinance, the Family Court may exercise jurisdiction exceeding the District Court's monetary limits.The Magistrates' Courts
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, certain statutory provisions give Magistrates the power to sentence up to three years imprisonment and to impose a fine up to $5,000,000. Prosecution of all indictable offences commences in the Magistrates' Courts, the Secretary for Justice may apply to have a case transferred to the District Court or committed to the Court of First Instance of the High Court depending on the seriousness of a case. There are approximately 70 Magistrates, sitting in various Tribunals and seven Magistrates' Courts: Eastern, Kowloon City, Kwun Tong, West Kowloon, Sha Tin, Fanling and Tuen Mun. A Principal Magistrate is in charge of each magistracy. The Chief Magistrate, whose chamber is at the Kowloon City Law Courts Building, oversees the work of all magistracies. The most junior judicial role is that of Special Magistrate, typically dealing only with minor offences such as hawking contraventions, traffic offences and other departmental summonses. Appeals against Magistrates' decisions are heard by a Judge of the Court of First Instance.Forms of Address
The magistrate are always referred to in court as "Sir" or "Madam" or "Your Worship". Barristers do not generally use the latter to refer to magistrates. In this context, the phrase "Your Worship" is not derived from any religious meaning but from the old English word meaning 'worthy of respect'.The Chief Magistrate may be referred to in writing by adding the post-nominal "CM", and the Principal Magistrates may be referred to in writing by adding the post-nominal "PM".
Special courts and tribunals
The Juvenile Court
Courts exercising juvenile jurisdiction are constituted, as the need arises, under the Juvenile Offenders Ordinance and other statutes. A juvenile court has exclusive jurisdiction to hear charges against children and young persons for any offence other than homicide. Children under 10 are exempted from criminal responsibility. It also has power to deal with care and protection cases involving young people aged up to 18.A permanent magistrate may sit as a juvenile court and special procedures apply. The magistrate explains the alleged offence to the child or young person in simple language and provides assistance to the defendant in the conduct of the case. Press coverage of the proceedings in juvenile court is restricted, preventing disclosure of the identity of the defendant. The Juvenile Court sits in the Eastern, Kowloon City, West Kowloon, Fanling and Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts.