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Following is a question by the Hon Albert Ho and a written reply by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, in the Legislative Council today (July 7):
Question:
The figures provided by the Government reveal that the waiting time for the Judiciary to handle judicial review (JR) cases and appeals against refusal of leave had increased in the past three years, with the average waiting time from listing to hearing of leave applications increased from 13 days in 2007 to 28 days in 2009; the average waiting time from listing to appeal hearing in respect of refusal of leave increased from 43 days in 2007 to 87 days in 2009, while the average waiting time from listing to hearing of substantive JR cases increased
from 100 days in 2007 to 125 days in 2009. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it knows the reasons for the increase in the waiting time for the Judiciary to handle JR cases in the past three years;
(b) it has studied if the aforesaid figures indicate that the resources put by the Judiciary in handling JR cases are inadequate; and
(c) it has continuously kept in view the capability of the Judiciary to handle JR cases, and whether the Government has taken corresponding measures in response to the aforesaid increase in the waiting time for handling JR cases; if so, of the details?
Reply:
President,
The Administration has consulted the Judiciary on the question and has received the following information and response.
Judicial review (JR) cases are heard in the High Court: the Court of Appeal for appeal hearings and the Court of First Instance for hearings of leave applications/substantive cases. JR cases have to be considered in the context of the civil caseload of which they form a part. The lengthening of the average waiting time of JR cases in 2009 was mainly due to the increased caseload and the growing complexity of civil cases in the High Court (including JR cases). The following figures show an increase in the civil caseload by 27% from 2007 to 2009 -
2007 2008 2009
21,078 21,899 26,849
It should be noted that some cases involve multiple parties. In these cases, the waiting time may be longer as a result of the fixing of trial dates which would be convenient to all parties and their counsel.
To cope with the increasing workload of the High Court, the Judiciary has made full use of all available courtrooms and has already engaged the maximum number of deputy judges who could be accommodated in the available courtrooms so as to reduce the waiting time in the High Court. To make room for further improvement, the Judiciary secured funding from the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council in February 2010 to construct three additional civil courtrooms in the High Court. Upon completion of the works scheduled for December 2011, it is expected that the Judiciary would have greater flexibility to deploy additional judicial resources to cope with the caseload in the High Court more effectively.
Meanwhile, the Judiciary would continue to monitor the situation closely and would make every effort to further improve the waiting time for JR cases. Each JR case would be considered on its own merits. Those which are considered urgent would be handled with priority and, whenever justified, expedited hearings would be arranged.
Ends/Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Issued at HKT 12:01
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