(Policy Address 2021) Huge courtroom to launch in Wanchai Tower for mega trials

A mega courtroom and supporting facilities will be set up at Wanchai Tower to handle trials involving a large number of defendants before the new District Court building completes construction in 2027, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said in her policy address.

The improvement works will commence in the first half of next year.

Lam said fair trial and due process are essential elements  of the procedural aspects of the rule of law. And Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, who took office in January this year, has refined the system for handling public complaints and proactively addressed the backlog of cases.

Lam said she has asked relevant departments to fully assist the Judiciary in tackling the problem of courtroom shortages on top of the facilities that are already currently under conversion, including the re-opening of the de-commissioned Tsuen Wan Law Courts Building.

Hong Kong has seen many more court cases involving dozens of defendants since the anti-fugitive unrest in 2019 and the National Security Law’s implementation last year.