Announcement by Judiciary
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The Judiciary announced today (March 17) that the registries and offices of the Labour Tribunal and the Small Claims Tribunal (except the Information Centre) will re-open on March 19 (Thursday).
To deal with the high volume of registry business anticipated in the initial period following the re-opening of the registries, the capacity of the registries and accounts offices of the two tribunals will be suitably expanded to cope with the expected upsurge in workload. Special arrangements, including a ticketing and triage system, will also be implemented to regulate the flow of people.
Parties and other court users are urged not to do filing and other registry business in the first few days of the re-opening of these registries, unless the matters are really urgent and must be done in the first few days of re-opening.
For court users of the Labour Tribunal whose appointment to meet a Tribunal Officer was affected by the closure of the registry, they need not go to the Labour Tribunal upon the re-opening of the registry. They should attend the registry on the date of the re-scheduled appointment as communicated to them by the Tribunal Officers by telephone.
The Information Centre of the Small Claim Tribunal will re-open on March 23 (Monday).
Preventive and crowd management measures
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Having struck a careful balance between public health considerations and the orderly re-opening of registries, the Judiciary will continue to put in place appropriate preventive and crowd management measures for the health protection of all people who enter and remain in the court premises. Court users are required to have their body temperature taken and wear a surgical mask before they are allowed to enter and remain in the court premises. The Judiciary will constantly review the situation and introduce any new measures as appropriate.
For effective crowd management, a ticketing and triage system will be adopted to regulate the number of court users accessing and remaining in the registries and offices.
Information on the detailed arrangements will be provided and uploaded onto the Judiciary website. Court users are strongly advised to check the updated information on the Judiciary website, and follow the advice of the Judiciary staff and security personnel when they attend court premises for court business.
Enquiries and information updates
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For general enquiries, the following hotlines will be operated from Monday to Friday from 8.45am to 1pm and from 2pm to 5.30pm:
- General Information: 2869 0869
- Labour Tribunal: 2625 0020
- Small Claims Tribunal: 2877 4068
The Judiciary will continue to post updated information, including Daily Cause Lists, messages related to the Judiciary's arrangements arising from public health considerations, and advice to court users visiting the courts during the General Adjourned Period, on the Judiciary website (www.judiciary.hk). Court users are advised to check the website for updated information as necessary.
Ends/Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Issued at HKT 14:26
Issued at HKT 14:26
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