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The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
The Competition Tribunal will come into full operation tomorrow (December 14) at the High Court Building, 38 Queensway. This is to tie in with the full commencement of the Competition Ordinance (Cap. 619) on the same day.
The Tribunal is established under the Competition Ordinance as a specialised court with primary jurisdiction to hear and adjudicate cases brought by the Competition Commission and the Communications Authority relating to alleged contraventions of the competition rules, follow-on private actions, alleged contravention of a conduct rule as a defence raised in proceedings before the Court of First Instance of the High Court, and reviews of certain determinations of the Commission and the Communications Authority.
The Tribunal will conduct its proceedings with as much informality as is consistent with attaining justice. The Tribunal will take an active and robust role in managing its cases.
The President and the Deputy President of the Tribunal, namely the Honourable Mr Justice Godfrey Lam Wan-ho and the Honourable Madam Justice Queeny Au-Yeung Kwai-yue respectively, were appointed in August 2013 to prepare for the setting up of the Tribunal. They are Judges of the Court of First Instance.
In addition, all the other Judges of the Court of First Instance are members of the Tribunal, while the Registrar, Senior Deputy Registrars and Deputy Registrars of the High Court hold the corresponding positions in the Tribunal.
The following procedural and fees rules for the Tribunal, which are subsidiary legislation, were enacted in July 2015 and will come into effect tomorrow:
(a) Competition Tribunal Rules (Cap. 619D);
(b) Competition Tribunal Fees Rules (Cap. 619E);
(c) Competition Tribunal Suitors' Funds Rules (Cap. 619F); and
(d) Rules of the High Court (Amendment) Rules 2015.
Furthermore, the related Practice Directions, which govern the detailed court procedures of the Tribunal, have been issued. Leaflets have also been published to assist members of the public to better understand the procedures.
The relevant rules and information about the Tribunal will be available at the Tribunal's website www.comptribunal.hk/ tomorrow.
Members of the public wishing to file any court documents in the Tribunal should do so at the Tribunal Registry located on the Ground Floor of the High Court Building after the Tribunal commences its operation tomorrow.
Ends/Sunday, December 13, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:01
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