Long waiting times for Hong Kong courts set to ease, judiciary says
Most cases related to the 2019 protests and national security have concluded, lawmakers told
The courts had cleared about 96 per cent of more than 2,350 cases linked to the 2019 anti-government protests, the judiciary told lawmakers on Monday. About 86 per cent of more than 230 national security cases have been cleared by the courts.
Lawmakers were also told at a Legislative Council special Finance Committee meeting about the judiciary’s plan to hire 10 private legal practitioners this year as deputy judges to help clear a backlog of about 8,500 cases related to non-refoulement claims.
Lawmakers expressed concerns at the meeting over the long waiting times for court proceedings.
Judiciary administrator Esther Leung Yuet-yin said “substantial improvements” to court waiting times for proceedings could be expected in the coming years.
“With the majority of the remaining [2019 unrest and national security] cases being set down for trial in 2025, their impact on the court waiting times for other proceedings is expected to be gradually reduced,” she said.