Supreme Court (Hong Kong)

Supreme Court
Traditional Chinese	香港最高法院
Transcriptions Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Hēung góng jeui gōu faat yuhn Jyutping Hoeng1 gong2 zeoi3 gou1 faat3 jyun6

The Supreme Court of Hong Kong was the highest court in

in 1997 and heard cases of first instance and appeals from the District and Magisrates Courts as well as certain tribunals. The Supreme Court was from 1976 made up of the High Court of Justice (High Court) and the Court of Appeal.

On 1 July 1997, the Supreme Court became the High Court which is made up of the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal.

History

Establishment

The Supreme Court was established in 1844 after Hong Kong became a British

Appeals

For almost 70 years after establishment of the court, there was no Court of Appeal in Hong Kong. Appeals were either by way or re-hearing or direct to the

The Court of Appeal was established in 1976.[3] Appeals from the Court of Appeal and Full Court and, certain criminal appeals from the High Court, lay to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom.^[4] In order to appeal to the Privy Council, leave to appeal was required either from the court appealed from or the Privy Council.

Renaming on transfer of sovereignty

After the transfer of sovereignty the Supreme Court was renamed as the

Buildings

• 1844–1848: A building at the junction of Wyndham and Wellington Streets
• 1848–?: Exchange Building, 7 Queen's Road, Central, a building originally erected for Dent & Co. by Tam Achoy.[7]
• 1889–1911: No. 29 Queen's Road, Central, between the Post Office and Land Office^[8]
• 1912–1980: The old
  Supreme Court Building – until 2012, the Legislative Council Building at 8 Jackson Road, Central, Hong Kong Island. It became the new seat of the Court of Final Appeal
  in September 2015.
• 1980–1983: The Former French Mission Building,^[9] later home to the Court of Final Appeal (1997–2015)
• 1985–1997: The new Supreme Court Building – now the High Court Building at 38 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong Island

Further reading

A full history of the Supreme Court up to the early 20th Century is in James William Norton-Kyshe's:

• The History of the Laws and Courts of Hong Kong: Tracing Consular Jurisdiction in China and Japan and including Parliamentary Debates: And the Rise, Progress, and Successive Changes in the Various Public Institutions of the Colony from the Earliest Period to the Present

See also

• Judiciary of Hong Kong
• Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong
• Maurice Heenan
• Sir Ti-Liang Yang
• Sir Denys Roberts
• Sir Noel Power
• Sir George Phillippo
• Sir Havilland de Sausmarez

References