Hong Kong judiciary proposes revamped complaints mechanism with input from members of the public
- Under the proposal, the two-tiered mechanism will include an advisory committee with members from outside the legal profession
- The committee will receive recommendations from a panel of judges before passing its own advice on to the chief justice
Members of the public will be invited to join a new committee to advise Hong Kong’s judiciary on how to handle complaints under a proposed revamp of the existing system, but some in the field have warned that their number should be small to avoid “outsiders judging the judges”.
The first tier, which is more akin to the court’s current mechanism, will involve a panel of judges tasked with investigating cases that are particularly serious, complex or a source of public concern.
Comprising at least two judges at the High Court level, the panel will be responsible for making recommendations to resolve complaints, with the help of the leaders of the relevant courts.
The panel will then have to submit its investigation reports and recommendations to the mechanism’s second tier – a committee comprising both judges and members of the public from outside the legal profession who will in turn advise the chief justice on how to handle the complaint.