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Hong Kong courts

Hong Kong courts
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Hong Kong courts. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Hong Kong has hundreds of barristers but only 104 of them are senior counsel. Photo: Yik Yeung-man.
Law

Legal Tales | The silk road: duties and responsibilities of Hong Kong’s senior counsel

Hong Kong has 104 senior counsel out of 1,700 barristers. So what makes senior counsel special, and are they worth that status?

Hong Kong politics

Hong Kong politics in 2025: Jimmy Lai verdict, Legco poll and Panama port saga

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Hong Kong police

Hong Kong police officer jailed for forging statements to close 10 cases

Crime in Hong Kong

Hongkonger who stole HK$61 million by adding ‘0’ to cheques gets 18 years’ jail

Property manager falsified reimbursements issued to him for work done, stealing HK$61.1 million from owners’ corporation over a decade.

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The High Court building in Admiralty. Photo: Warton Li
Hong Kong High Court

Hong Kong policeman jailed for posing as trainer to claim sick leave in 2019

Court rejects Jeffrey Tam Shun-wai’s denials and rules he had lied to his doctor to avoid frontline police work during the 2019 social unrest.

Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong auxiliary policeman charged over alleged indecent act in taxi

Man, 57, arrested on suspicion of outraging public decency, is scheduled to appear in Eastern Court on Tuesday.

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Hong Kong

Hong Kong homeowner fined HK$180,000 for ‘wilful’ structural flat wall removal

Ku Chun-ho bears responsibility for checking whether removal of wall in his Lohas Park home requires approval, magistrate says.

A screen grab of Ku Chun-ho’s 681 sq ft home. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong

Hong Kong taxi driver, 82, acquitted of using foul language at teenage customer

Deputy Magistrate Christine Leung rules that complainant was an unreliable witness, with logical fallacies in his testimony.

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My Take

My Take | Eye-opening court judgment a snapshot of issues that have plagued city for years

Case involved a common but illegal practice in which developers collude with indigenous villagers to abuse the city’s ‘small-house’ policy.

Law

Legal Tales | Free for all or fees for all? Hong Kong’s legal aid levels the scales

From pro bono work to legal aid, the city’s lawyers help ensure access to the courts is not reserved only for those with deep pockets.

Photos of the Goddess sculpture at the Court of Final Appeal in Central. 31MAY17 SCMP / Sam Tsang
Hong Kong

Judges slam lawyers, quash convictions of 11 Hong Kong villagers in ‘ding’ case

Appeal court rules 11 men were deprived of a fair trial because their lawyers failed to act in their best interests in building licences case.

Philip Wong had represented the 11 villagers and a developer in the trial. Photo: Brian Wong
Accidents and personal safety

Hong Kong tram driver gets 4 weeks in jail for crash that killed girl, 3

Magistrate takes mitigating factors into consideration, grants Li Yaodong release for appeal proceedings after being remanded for two weeks.

Jimmy Lai

Opinion | West must face the facts of Jimmy Lai’s trial and conviction

Lai received a fair trial conducted in strict accordance with the law, during which his legal rights were fully safeguarded.

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Hong Kong

Hong Kong court orders trial to compensate dancer paralysed in Mirror show

Judge says Mo Li’s then employer Studiodanz ‘evaded responsibility’ by failing to appear at hearings, orders trial to determine compensation.

Dancer Mo Li remains paralysed from an accident that occured during a Mirror concert in July 2022. Photo: Instagram
Jimmy Lai trial

Beijing, Hong Kong slam G7 over criticism of Jimmy Lai trial verdict

Chinese ministry’s arm in Hong Kong says attempts to pressure nation akin to ‘mantis trying to stop a chariot or ant trying to shake a tree’.

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A national flag flies outside the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong. Photo: Warton Li
Hong Kong

Wall Street Journal accuses Hong Kong union head of abusing legal process

Lawyers for US newspaper claim ex-employee Selina Cheng is taking legal action only after her ‘extortionate’ demand for HK$3 million was rejected.

Law

Legal Tales | Despite lapses behind Tai Po fire, Hong Kong’s unity shows in a time of crisis

Catastrophic fires in other places offer lessons in the administration of justice, but Hongkongers’ care and resilience will carry them through.

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Accidents and disasters in China

How will Jimmy Lai’s conviction affect China-UK ties, Starmer’s planned visit?

Outcome of ex-media tycoon’s Hong Kong trial poses stern test for Labour government’s balancing act with Beijing, observers say.

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to visit Beijing and Shanghai in late January. Photo: EPA
Jimmy Lai trial

Open court, detailed ruling in Lai trial ‘prove Hong Kong rule of law strong’

Lawyers urge members of public to study the court’s judgment before drawing conclusions after Western countries hit out at Lai verdict.

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Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong engineer gets 5 years over HK$6 million laundering and bribery offences

High Court jails former civil servant for laundering millions and taking bribe to help friend’s engineering firms win government tenders.

Jimmy Lai trial

Hong Kong court’s verdict in Jimmy Lai trial sheds light on law, experts say

Judges stress that Lai’s actions before enactment of national security law were not the subject of any charges, serving only as background.

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Jimmy Lai, 78, was found guilty on all three charges he faced under the Beijing-imposed national security law. Photo: Winson Wong
China-EU relations

Trump appeals to Xi over Jimmy Lai as Britain summons China’s ambassador

US president says he asked Chinese leader to consider freeing Lai, describing the jailed media executive as ‘an older man’ who is ‘not well’.

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Police officers keep watch as a van transporting media tycoon Jimmy Lai leaves the West Kowloon court on Monday in Hong Kong. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong national security law

Editorial | Jimmy Lai verdict a testament to Hong Kong’s rule of law

The national security law trial was conducted in Hong Kong’s open courts and showcases their professionalism.

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Jimmy Lai trial

Jimmy Lai’s conviction in Hong Kong becomes flashpoint between China, West

Western nations unlikely to hit city with more sanctions as they need Beijing’s cooperation to offset unfair US trade practices, experts say.

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Jimmy Lai trial

Jimmy Lai’s ‘rabid hatred’ of party led him down ‘thorny path’: Hong Kong court

Judges find former media boss guilty of national security offences, dismissing his ‘inconsistent, contradictory and unreliable’ testimony.

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Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai was found guilty of three counts of national security offences. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Jimmy Lai trial

Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai used personal ties to seek foreign sanctions: court ruling

Former media boss tapped into vast political network for intervention against Beijing and Hong Kong, according to 857-page judgment.

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Jimmy Lai holds talks with then US vice-president Mike Pence in the White House in 2019. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong

Hong Kong barrister granted temporary anonymity in molestation case

Court approves 32-year-old defendant’s request to hide his name to protect alleged victim’s identity.

Jimmy Lai trial

Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai found guilty on all charges in national security trial

City leader John Lee welcomes conviction, calls it an upholding of justice and a safeguard for Hong Kong’s core values.

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