https://www.scmp.com/rss/523454/feed The latest news and top stories on the UK’s High Court. A central London-based superior court, part of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, it is responsible for administering justice across civil and some criminal cases. Headquartered at the Royal Courts of Justice, it operates through three main divisions: the King’s Bench, Chancery, and Family Divisions. Its primary mission involves hearing high-value civil disputes, overseeing lower courts and handling specialised areas like business,... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Brian Wong Brian Wong Hong Kong’s Law Society has ordered the closure of a solicitors’ firm under investigation for its alleged role in a series of “crash-for-cash” scams in the city. The society’s council announced on Wednesday it would intervene in the practice of Raymond Lam & Associates, which will cease operations with immediate effect. The council also appointed Robertsons, another local law firm, as the intervention agent to handle matters pertaining to the closure. In a statement, the society said it found... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3351885/hong-kong-law-society-closes-firm-linked-crash-cash-scams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3351885/hong-kong-law-society-closes-firm-linked-crash-cash-scams?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:56:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A British police force said on Thursday it would reopen a probe into rape and sexual assault allegations made by women against self-proclaimed misogynist influencer Andrew Tate between 2014 and 2015. It is the latest in a slew of investigations into Tate, a British-US citizen who promotes his divisive views to millions of followers on social media. “Hertfordshire Constabulary can confirm that a decision has been made to reinvestigate allegations made by women between 2014 and 2015 relating to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348063/uk-police-reopen-andrew-tate-rape-probe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348063/uk-police-reopen-andrew-tate-rape-probe?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 01:02:36 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong The Hong Kong government has won an appeal against a court ruling that found a veteran teacher’s dismissal for anti-police remarks was unlawful. The Court of Appeal on Friday ruled that the secretary for the civil service was entitled to sack 27-year veteran Toffee Tam Yuk-fun and strip her of all retirement benefits for serious misconduct during the 2019 anti-government protests. Tam, who taught at the Jockey Club Government Secondary School in Kowloon Tong, previously won a judicial review... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3345753/sacking-teacher-anti-police-remarks-reasonable-appeal-court-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3345753/sacking-teacher-anti-police-remarks-reasonable-appeal-court-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 11:45:48 +0000 Olga Wong Olga Wong Hong Kong’s finance chief will unveil new measures in his budget to strengthen the city’s growing intellectual property (IP) economy, focusing on nurturing top-tier talent and helping local tech firms evaluate their patents, the South China Morning Post has learned. The initiatives, expected to be announced on Wednesday, come as Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po faces mounting expectations to make strategic use of the city’s earlier-than-expected operating surplus while investing in long-term... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3344370/hong-kong-boost-ip-economy-new-academy-patent-evaluation-support?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3344370/hong-kong-boost-ip-economy-new-academy-patent-evaluation-support?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:30:08 +0000 Natalie Wong,Matthew Cheng,Edith Lin,Brian Wong Natalie Wong,Matthew Cheng,Edith Lin,Brian Wong Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeals by 12 opposition activists seeking to overturn their convictions or have their sentences reduced, following the city’s largest national security trial to date. The appellate court on Monday also upheld the acquittal of one of 47 defendants prosecuted in the high-profile case of conspiracy to subvert state power. A heavy police presence was seen outside the West Kowloon Court on Monday morning, with around 100 officers stationed at the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3344284/hong-kong-court-rule-appeals-activists-largest-national-security-trial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3344284/hong-kong-court-rule-appeals-activists-largest-national-security-trial?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Feb 2026 01:31:22 +0000 Ng Kang-chung Ng Kang-chung Hong Kong has deported 113 rejected non-refoulement claimants after a week-long operation, according to the Immigration Department. The operation codenamed “Shield” involved deporting a group of 68 men and 45 women, some of whom had completed prison sentences for criminal offences in the city. “A total of 113 unsubstantiated non-refoulement claimants who were illegal immigrants and overstayers were repatriated to their places of origin,” the department said on Monday. “The persons removed …... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3340434/hong-kong-deports-113-failed-asylum-seekers-week-long-operation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3340434/hong-kong-deports-113-failed-asylum-seekers-week-long-operation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 09:43:42 +0000 Fiona Chow,Danny Mok Fiona Chow,Danny Mok A jailed activist has lost a judicial review against a Hong Kong Correctional Services Department (CSD) rule that prohibits female inmates from wearing shorts in summer, with the court ruling that the women’s standard prison uniform was carefully designed and did not constitute discrimination. High Court judge Russell Coleman said on Tuesday that there was “little merit” in Chow Hang-tung’s argument that the department’s clothing policy violated her right to equality. Under the existing rules,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3339778/hong-kong-activist-loses-legal-fight-over-prison-shorts-ban-female-inmates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3339778/hong-kong-activist-loses-legal-fight-over-prison-shorts-ban-female-inmates?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jan 2026 13:07:18 +0000 Connor Mycroft Connor Mycroft The court’s verdict in former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s trial has shed light on the ways in which implicit acts and actions taken before the national security law came into effect may constitute criminal offences, legal experts have said. Lai, 78, was found guilty on all three charges he faced under the Beijing-imposed national security law on Monday, marking the first time a court had ruled on the offence of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. The landmark verdict was... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3336542/hong-kong-courts-verdict-jimmy-lai-trial-sheds-light-law-experts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3336542/hong-kong-courts-verdict-jimmy-lai-trial-sheds-light-law-experts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2025 00:30:17 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A court in Japan has ordered the Tokyo metropolitan government to pay 39 million yen (US$247,970) in damages to the family of a Nepalese man who died after being excessively restrained by police eight years ago. Arjun Bahadur Singh was arrested in 2017 on suspicion of carrying a credit card that did not belong to him. Police later kept the 39-year-old in a detention room, tying a belt and rope around his wrists and knees for about two hours after he became violent, the Mainichi newspaper... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3333676/tokyo-government-ordered-pay-us247970-damages-nepal-mans-death?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3333676/tokyo-government-ordered-pay-us247970-damages-nepal-mans-death?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Nov 2025 08:00:35 +0000 Cliff Buddle Cliff Buddle The brutal killing of a newspaper seller, stabbed to death at her stand by “hired thugs” in 1999, was an outrage of the kind that has occasionally rocked and shocked Hong Kong. Four men who carried out the horrific attack, described by authorities as a “classic triad murder”, were later jailed, three of them for life. The punishment fits the crime. They deserve no sympathy. But a fair and humane justice system must allow for the possibility that those responsible for even the most terrible... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3330325/one-measure-just-society-way-it-treats-those-who-transgress-most?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3330325/one-measure-just-society-way-it-treats-those-who-transgress-most?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Oct 2025 13:40:11 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong A 93-year-old Hong Kong plastic surgeon unlawfully killed a top banker by gross negligence during a botched Botox injection seven years ago, a jury has found. A seven-member High Court jury on Thursday reached a unanimous decision that found Dr Franklin Li Wang-pong had committed all the acts alleged in the original manslaughter charge before he was declared unfit to stand trial last month due to dementia. That unfitness means the ruling will not leave Li with a criminal record, but the court... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3330079/hong-kong-surgeon-unlawfully-killed-woman-botched-botox-procedure-jury-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3330079/hong-kong-surgeon-unlawfully-killed-woman-botched-botox-procedure-jury-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Oct 2025 09:56:06 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong A Hong Kong court has found that authorities were wrong in law to oppose the early release of a convicted murderer on the grounds that he has not served enough time, ordering them to take into consideration all relevant factors for his next review. Lo Hon-hing on Wednesday won a judicial challenge in the High Court that compels the Long-term Prison Sentences Review Board to adopt a “holistic” approach in assessing his suitability for early release, taking into account his rehabilitation and the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3329960/hong-kong-court-orders-authorities-review-murderers-life-sentence-anew?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3329960/hong-kong-court-orders-authorities-review-murderers-life-sentence-anew?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Oct 2025 10:56:49 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Malawi’s ex-president Peter Mutharika was re-elected to head the impoverished southern African country with nearly 57 per cent of the votes, the election authority announced Wednesday, following polls dominated by soaring living costs. President Lazarus Chakwera came second with 33 per cent of ballots in the September 16 vote, the electoral commission said, hours after the incumbent had conceded defeat admitting his rival had an “insurmountable lead”. Supporters of Mutharika, 85, and his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3326744/malawis-ex-president-mutharika-returns-power-crushing-election-victory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3326744/malawis-ex-president-mutharika-returns-power-crushing-election-victory?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Sep 2025 21:59:04 +0000 Reuters,Agence France-Presse Reuters,Agence France-Presse The High Court in London rejected a legal challenge on Monday, brought by a Palestinian rights group, seeking to block the UK from supplying components for Israeli F-35 fighter jets. Israel has used the jets to devastating effect in its bombardment of Gaza. Both sides have been accused of atrocities during a conflict that has killed tens of thousands – the vast majority of them Palestinian civilians, according to figures the United Nations deems reliable. The UK government suspended some export... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3316403/high-court-rejects-rights-groups-claim-uk-illegally-arming-israel-f-35-parts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3316403/high-court-rejects-rights-groups-claim-uk-illegally-arming-israel-f-35-parts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Jun 2025 11:23:32 +0000