Judiciary's guide to judicial conduct updated to revise the use of social media in daily life

The Judiciary published the 2022 Guide to Judicial Conduct (the Guide) on Monday, an update to the 2004 edition. The guide has been revised to take into account the impact of the advancement in information technology, particularly the use of social media in the daily life.

General principles on handling cases involving public controversies, as well as guidance on behaviour in court and making comments on parties and other persons when performing judicial functions are included.

The guidance on recusal and apparent bias has also been updated with reference to recent case law in this area.

For instance, “a judge should not use social media in any way that would pose risks to the judge or compromise his or her standing and integrity or the dignity of the office or public confidence in the Judiciary generally if the relevant information became public,” the “Social Media” part mentioned in the guide wrote.

"Judges should be wary of “friending”, “liking”, “following” or other forms of online or social media association with any person, group or entity where such association may undermine the perception of their impartiality in a particular case or could damage public confidence in the Judiciary in general," the guide wrote.

The guide also stated that when online abuse, doxxing or other disclosure of personal information or details of judges have happened, "a judge should refrain from responding directly but should consult the Court Leader.”

"There may be media criticism of a decision or criticism mounted by interested members of the public. A judge should refrain from answering such criticism," the guide added. And it suggest judges "should avoid expressing views to the media, even on an anonymous basis."

The judiciary said since the guide to judicial conduct was first published in 2004, the topic of judicial conduct has seen much discussion and development. Given the increasingly complex conditions in which judging takes place, and the increased public interest in the work of judges and judicial officers, the judiciary considers it an appropriate time to review and update the guide.

"I am confident that this new edition of the guide will continue to provide useful guidance to judges and judicial officers in maintaining the highest standards of judicial conduct, and enable the public to better understand our judicial work and the uncompromised standards," the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal Andrew Cheung Kui-nung said.