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| District Court | |
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 Interactive map of District Court | |
| 22°16′48.02″N114°10′20.48″E / 22.2800056°N 114.1723556°E /22.2800056; 114.1723556 | |
| Established | 18 February 1953 |
| Jurisdiction | Hong Kong |
| Location | 12 Harbour Road,Wan Chai,Victoria,Hong Kong Island Hong Kong |
| Coordinates | 22°16′48.02″N114°10′20.48″E / 22.2800056°N 114.1723556°E /22.2800056; 114.1723556 |
| Authorised by | Hong Kong Basic Law |
| Appeals to | Court of Appeal |
| Website | judiciary.hk |
| Chief District Judge | |
| Currently | Justin Ko |
| Hong Kong District Court | |||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 區域法院 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 区域法院 | ||||||||||||
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| Pre-handover name | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 地方法院 | ||||||||||||
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| This article is part of the series:Courts of Hong Kong |
| Law of Hong Kong |
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Administration
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Civil courts
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TheDistrict Court (incase citations,HKDC)[1] is the intermediate court inHong Kong, having limitedcriminal andcivil jurisdictions.
The hierarchy of the Hong Kong judiciary from high to low is: theCourt of Final Appeal, theHigh Court (consisting of the upperCourt of Appeal and the lowerCourt of First Instance), the District Court, andmagistrates' courts.
The District Court was first established in 1953 with the enactment of the District Court Ordinance,[2] and is roughly equivalent to theCounty Court of England and Wales in terms of its civil jurisdiction.[3][4] From 1991 to 2020, the court sat exclusively in the Wanchai Law Courts,Wanchai Tower, 12 Harbour Road, until the increase in protest-related cases with large numbers of defendants necessitated some trials to be conducted in theWest Kowloon Law Courts Building, the Eastern Law Courts Building, and the Tsuen Wan Law Courts Building instead.[5]
Until March 1991, there were sixdistrict courts, namelyVictoria,Kowloon,Fanling,Tsuen Wan,Tuen Mun andSha Tin, before being amalgamated into the current single District Courtin March 1991.[citation needed]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(January 2024) |
The District Court has limited civil jurisdiction. For a contract, quasi-contract or tort claim to be handled by the District Court, it should be for an amount over HK$75,000 but not more than HK$3 million.[6] If the claim is more than HK$3 million, the claim can still be pursued in the District Court (instead of theCourt of First Instance of theHigh Court) provided that the excess is abandoned.[7] If the claim is HK$75,000 or less, an adverse costs order may be made against the winning plaintiff due to pursuing its claim in the wrong court.
If the plaintiff's claim does not exceed HK$3 million, but the defendant counterclaims for over HK$3 million, the claim and the counterclaim (or the counterclaim only) may be transferred to theCourt of First Instance of theHigh Court. For good reasons, the District Court may continue to handle the whole case even when the counterclaim exceeds HK$3 million, but a report has to be made to the High Court, which may order that the case be transferred.[8]
As to claims for possession of land, the District Court can deal with buildings or premises the annual rent or rateable value or the annual value of which does not exceed HK$320,000.[9]
If a claimant invokes the District Court'sequityjurisdiction, the above limits are equally applicable, except that in proceedings wholly relating to land, the maximum value shall not exceed HK$7 million.[10]
Distraint claims are handled by the District Court.
The District Court has exclusive jurisdiction to determine claims for compensation payable under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282), regardless of the amount.[11] Such claims are governed by the Employees' Compensation (Rules of Court) Rules (Cap. 282B)[12] and Practice Direction 18.2.[13]
The District Court has exclusive jurisdiction to deal with claims made under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 480),[14] the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 487),[15] the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 527)[16] and the Race Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 602).[17] Such claims are governed by the District Court Equal Opportunities Rules (Cap. 336G)[18] and Practice Direction SL8.[19]
The District Court has jurisdiction to handle claims by theInland Revenue Department against defaulting taxpayers to recover outstanding tax due to theGovernment, regardless of the amount.[20] The District Court also hears appeals from taxpayers against assessments by theCollector of Stamp Duty.[21]
The system is modelled after theEnglish legal system, with indictable offences being taken up by the District Court if they are transferred from themagistrate's court.
The District Court hears all serious cases except murder, manslaughter rape and dangerous drug cases where large quantities of drugs have been seized, and can impose a sentence of up to seven years. Cases are heard in either theCantonese orEnglish language.
A District Court Judge sits alone without a jury. From its establishment in 1953 there have been no juries in the district court. The Attorney General at the time the District Court Ordinance was passed,Arthur Ridehalgh, explained to the Legislative Council that juries were "not infallible" and only a "means to an end" and that every practitioner will have come across cases where a verdict of not guilty was either a "stupid or perverse one." Judges would be required to give reasons for verdict would should be sufficient safeguard.[22]
A person who has practised for at least 5 years as abarrister,advocate,solicitor orjudicial officer in Hong Kong or anothercommon law jurisdiction is eligible to be appointed as a Judge, Registrar or Master of the District Court.[23][24]
District Judges, as well as the Registrar and Masters of the District Court, are appointed by theChief Executive on the recommendation of the independentJudicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC).[25][26]
Limited-term or vacancy-filling Deputy District Judges may be appointed by theChief Justice.[27]
It is not uncommon for a person to sit as a short-term Deputy District Judge prior to appointment in a permanent capacity.
In 1986, Judge Helen Lo was the first woman to be appointed as a District Judge.[28][29]
District judges are mandated to retire at age 65.[30]
The Chief District Judge is the Court Leader of the District Court.
The Judges who have held the position of Chief District Judge to date are:
| No. | Name | Chinese name | Tenure Start | Tenure End | Tenure Length | Reason for Tenure End | Subsequent Most Senior Judicial Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clare-Marie Beeson,SBS | 貝珊 | 1 July 1997 | 30 November 1997 | 153 days | AppointedJudge of the Court of First Instance | Same(retired) |
| 2 | Richard Neville Hawkes,BBS | 韓敬善 | 19 March 1999 | 15 May 2001 | 2 years and 58 days | Retired | None(retired) |
| 3 | Barnabas Fung Wah,GBS | 馮驊 | 16 May 2001 | 26 November 2006 | 5 years and 195 days | AppointedJudge of the Court of First Instance | Same |
| 4 | Patrick Li Hon-leung | 李瀚良 | 2 July 2008 | 15 August 2012 | 4 years and 45 days | AppointedJudge of the Court of First Instance | Same(retired) |
| 5 | Poon Siu-tung | 潘兆童 | 17 September 2012 | 13 January 2019 | 6 years and 119 days | AppointedJudge of the Court of First Instance | Same |
| 6 | Justin Ko King-sau | 高勁修 | 6 January 2020 | Incumbent | 5 years and 326 days |
District Judges are referred to as 'His/Her Honour Judge [surname]'.
The Judges of the District Court (as of 3 December 2024[update]) are (ranked by seniority):[31]
Chief District Judge
PrincipalFamily Court Judge
District Judges
Pursuant to a general power of appointment to vacancies or on a temporary basis under sections 10 and 37A of the High Court Ordinance, Cap. 4,[62] theChief Justice frequently makes short-term appointments of District Court judges to sit in theHigh Court as a Deputy Judge or Master.[63]
All District Judges are, by virtue of their office, Presiding Officers of theLands Tribunal.[64] In practice, however, only certain District Judges are assigned to hear cases in the Lands Tribunal.
TheChief Justice appoints on a temporary basis a number ofPermanent Magistrates, retired judges and practitioners in private practice to sit as Deputy District Judges. A Deputy District Judge may exercise all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of a District Judge.[65]
All Deputy District Judges are, by virtue of their office, Presiding Officers of the Lands Tribunal.[66] In practice, however, only certain Deputy District Judges are assigned to hear cases in the Lands Tribunal.
All Judges of the District Court (regardless of whether Chief District Judge, Judges or Deputy Judges) are addressed in court as "Your Honour".
In court judgments and decisions, District Judges are referred to as 'His/Her Honour Judge [surname]', 'HH Judge [surname]' or 'HHJ [surname]'. Deputy District Judges are referred to as 'Deputy District Judge [surname]' or 'DDJ [surname]'.
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