The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
      
     The Judiciary issued a Practice Note today (May 18) setting out a new requirement on use of the integrated Court Case Management System (iCMS) for case commencement in the High Court for all legal representatives, in preparation for the mandatory use of iCMS in the last quarter of 2026.

     To encourage the migration towards using iCMS as the primary litigation platform, the Judiciary has continually been taking various promotion and facilitation measures. They include maintaining a dedicated information webpage (www.judiciary.hk/en/e_courts/index.html), operating the iCMS Help Centre and enquiry/technical hotlines, organising pilot runs and series of training and demonstration sessions, as well as reaching out to law firms to offer on-site technical support on case commencement via iCMS and immediate account registration assistance.

     To further facilitate the mandatory use of iCMS by legal representatives later this year, the Judiciary will introduce a new requirement for all law firms to register under iCMS and familiarise themselves with the system, especially in commencing new cases.

     Starting from June 1, 2026, unless prior permission has been granted by the Court, a law firm that has not previously commenced a case using the iCMS will be required to do so when it next commences a new case in any iCMS-enabled case type in the High Court. Once a firm has commenced a case using the iCMS, this requirement will no longer apply; however, firms are strongly encouraged to continue using the iCMS during the lead-in to its mandatory implementation later in 2026.

     Specifically, the requirement applies to the commencement of new cases in the following types of proceedings in the High Court (Specified Proceedings):

1. civil appeal cases in the Court of Appeal;

2. commercial cases, construction and arbitration cases, intellectual property cases, personal injuries cases, and civil action cases in the Court of First Instance; and

3. a proceeding to which the Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4A) apply and for which the use of electronic technology has been implemented under a notice published under section 32(2) of the Court Proceedings (Electronic Technology) Ordinance (Cap. 638).

     For information on the application for permission to commence a new case in the Specified Proceedings by conventional mode and other details, please refer to the Practice Note, which is available on the Judiciary's website at www.judiciary.hk/doc/en/e_courts/uoicms_lrl_e.pdf.

     The Practice Note will take effect on June 1, 2026.

     As part of the Judiciary's ongoing efforts to facilitate court users in handling court businesses electronically, the Judiciary will continue to provide support to law firms in using the iCMS. In addition to the prevailing technical/enquiry hotlines and regular briefing-cum-demonstration sessions, on-site guidance will be available at the High Court Building's Training Centre (Room LG101) during office hours starting from June 2026. Law firms may also schedule appointments with the Judiciary's outreach teams for support at their own offices. For law firms that have not yet registered for iCMS accounts, the outreach teams will process their registration on the spot, enabling them to proceed with the electronic case commencement without delay.

     For enquiries, please call 2867 2251 or email to enquiry@judiciary.hk.

Ends/Monday, May 18, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:30

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