Waiting time for Hong Kong District Court cases quadruples to 416 days – well over 100-day target
- Surge in criminal work, including national security and 2019 protest trials, means 40 criminal cases put back because of shortage of judges in upper courts
The city’s judiciary on Wednesday also revealed that a surge in criminal work, including trials related to national security and the 2019 anti-government protests, had forced the rescheduling of 40 cases because of a shortage of judges.
The figures were submitted to the Legislative Council just after the departure of three overseas judges from the city’s top court, the Court of Final Appeal.
Two UK judges, Jonathan Sumption and Lawrence Collins, resigned from their roles as non-permanent judges and fellow justice, Canadian Beverley McLachlin, announced she would retire next month.
Among the 542,904 cases last year, criminal ones handled by the Court of First Instance, including those involving national security and related to the 2019 anti-government protests, saw a 100 per cent jump to 446 from 223 in 2022.
“Such an upwards trend is expected to continue,” the judiciary warned legislators.