Senior counsels ‘should accept their public duty’ and help solve Hong Kong judiciary’s manpower crunch
Former Bar Association chairwoman Winnie Tam listed strict retirement policy and old High Court building among factors discouraging the most experienced lawyers from the bench
Despite a series of pay rises over the years, Hong Kong’s judiciary is still suffering from a manpower crunch, with 50 of the city’s 214 positions on the bench left vacant between last April and this March.
The shortage was most severe in the lower courts, with 36 of 109 permanent magistrate positions unoccupied, compared with 31 vacancies in the previous 12-month period. At the High Court, seven out of 34 posts were not filled, the same as the previous year, according to a government paper submitted to lawmakers last week.
Justice Mohan Bharwaney, who was a senior counsel before he became a High Court judge in 2011, said despite higher pay and the practice of reappointing retired judges for shorter periods, the judiciary was “very far away” from tackling its manpower shortage.
“It’s a function of economics, because the senior counsel who are fit and proper to be appointed to the High Court are earning so much money in practice,” Bharwaney said.
The paper showed that High Court judges earn upwards of HK$292,650 (US$37,280) each month with those in the Court of Appeal earning upwards of HK$307,050. But top-tier senior counsel could earn more than double those amounts.
