Court cases rise 10pc to 527,000 with national security, social unrest taking priority

The Hong Kong Judiciary handled over 520,000 cases in 2023, a nearly 10 percent increase from 2022, according to a paper submitted to the Legislative Council.

The total case load of the Court of First Instance of the High Court saw a significant 18 percent increase, from around 16,600 cases in 2022 to close to 19,670 cases in 2023.

The number of criminal cases filed at the CFI, including those related to the anti-extradition amendment bill and national security as well as other criminal cases, doubled from 2022 to 2023 - rising from 446 cases to 301 cases disposed of in 2023.

This increase in high-profile and lengthy national security cases has led to the general waiting time for other criminal proceedings remaining high as of March 2024.

This could likely be due to the priority given to high-profile anti-extradition amendment bills and national security cases over others as they usually had more lengthy trials and hearings. Each national security case is also required to be handled by three criminal judges at a time. As a result, some 40 scheduled criminal cases had to be rearranged.

The District Court also experienced a 16 percent increase in total caseload from 2022 to 2023. While the average waiting time for criminal cases in the District Court remains above the goal, it has shown a slight improvement from a peak of 442 days in 2023 to 416 days as of March 2024.

"Looking ahead, the Judiciary aims to continue promoting judicial careers to address the shortage of judicial manpower. It expects gradual improvements to the court waiting times for CFI proceedings in the next two years, as the backlog of national security cases is cleared and additional CFI judges commence work," the Judiciary said.

The Judiciary is also drafting legislation on remote hearings to give courts more flexibility while balancing the requirements of open justice and fair trials.

"The Judiciary is finalizing the bill in light of the extensive comments received and aims to introduce the bill into the Legislative Council in the fourth quarter of 2024," it said.