Courts to resume most hearings from April 12

From April 12, all hearings -- including criminal and civil proceedings – will generally resume unless indicated otherwise by the court, the Judiciary announced on Thursday.   

Some hearings will be scheduled at wider intervals to reduce the overall capacity of court operations.  

The Judiciary earlier announced that all hearings of the courts and tribunals scheduled initially between March 7 and April 11 would be adjourned, except for cases specified otherwise.   

It said on Thursday that in light of the latest Covid-19 situation, the general adjournment period will end on schedule on April 11.   

It will carry out more court business during the last week of the period from April 4 to 11 and then gradually resume court business under reduced capacity from April 12.   

The Judiciary will continue to adjust the seating capacity of the public gallery of courtrooms and court lobbies to enhance social distancing and limit the flow of people. The court will also use more remote hearings or paper disposal for civil proceedings and other suitable cases.  

Starting from April 12, registries and accounts offices will reopen progressively:   

April 12 - High Court, Competition Tribunal, Magistrates’ Courts, Small Claims Tribunal, Obscene Articles Tribunal, Coroner’s Court.  

April 13 - Court of Final Appeal, Labour Tribunal  

April 14 - District Court  

April 20 - Family Court  

April 21 - Lands Tribunal  

The operating hours of the registries and accounts offices will be adjusted to 8.45am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 5pm Monday to Friday, except on public holidays.   

Special arrangements for particular court business at the High Court Registry, the Probate Registry at the High Court, and the District Court Registry are available here.  

Due to the enormous volume of registry business during the first few days of reopening, queuing, and ticketing arrangements will be put in place to regulate the flow of people and reduce crowd gathering.   

Starting from April 30, the Judiciary will implement the second stage, “vaccine pass,” requiring all visitors to receive at least two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine before entering its premises, save for those aged 12 to 17 and people who recovered from Covid-19.   

Exemptions also apply to children under 12 and those who are medically unfit to receive a vaccination.   

Those who must attend court on the day as parties to or witnesses in a legal proceeding, legal representatives with prior permission by the presiding judge or judicial officer, and jurors in a proceeding that has commenced before March 2 are also exempted from the “vaccine pass” arrangement.