Court of Appeal (Hong Kong) explained

22.2782°N 114.1631°W

Court Name:	Court of Appeal
Established:	1 July 1997
Location:	38 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Authority:	Hong Kong Basic Law
Appealsto:	Court of Final Appeal
Website:	http://www.judiciary.gov.hk/en/index/index.htm
Chiefjudgetitle:	President of the Court of Appeal
Chiefjudgename:	The Honourable Mr Justice Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor, CJHC

Order:	ts
T:	上訴法庭
S:	上诉法庭
Y:	Séuhng sou faat tìhng
J:	Soeng5 sou3 faat3 ting4
P:	Shàngsùfǎtíng

The Court of Appeal of the High Court of Hong Kong is the second most senior court in the Hong Kong legal system. It deals with appeals on all civil and criminal cases from the Court of First Instance and the District Court. It is one of two courts that makes up the High Court of Hong Kong (which was formerly known as the Supreme Court of Hong Kong). Sometimes criminal appeals from Magistrates' Courts with general public importance are also dealt with in the Court of Appeal, either by referral by a single judge from the Court of First Instance, or upon granting of leave on application for review by the Secretary for Justice.

This court also hears appeals from the Lands Tribunal and various tribunals and statutory bodies.

The Chief Judge of the High Court of Hong Kong serves as the President of the Court of Appeal.

Prior to the establishment of the Court of Appeal in 1976, a Full Court consisting of first instance High Court judges was constituted to hear appeals.^[1]

Cases in the Court of Appeal are decided by a bench consisting of one, two or three Judges. On rare occasions, having regard to the public importance of the issue, the Court of Appeal has been constituted by a division of five Judges.^{[2] [3]} Final substantive appeal hearings take place before a bench of three Judges. In civil cases, interlocutory appeals and leave to appeal application hearings take place before a bench of two Judges.^[4] A single Judge can grant leave to appeal on a paper application and make procedural orders/directions not involving the determination of an appeal.^[5] In criminal cases, appeals against sentence take place before a bench of two Judges^[6] and leave to appeal application hearings take place before a single Judge.^[7] A decision by a two-member bench of the Court of Appeal has the same binding precedential value as a decision by a three-member bench of the Court of Appeal^{[8] [9]} or a five-member bench of the Court of Appeal.^[10] If a case is heard by a two-member bench and the two Judges differ on the outcome, then the lower court's judgment or order will not be disturbed.^[11] In such a situation, any party can apply for the case to be re-heard by an uneven number of Judges in the Court of Appeal.^{[12] [13]}

A Judge of the Court of First Instance may also sit as a Judge in the Court of Appeal,^[14] including as a single Judge (for example, when determining applications for leave to appeal in criminal cases).^[15]

Cases

In August 2022, the court ruled that same-sex marriages overseas would not be recognized as valid in Hong Kong, resulting in no rights or benefits given to married couples in Hong Kong.^[16]

In November 2022, the court ruled that there are minimum jail sentences for "serious" national security offenses.^[17]

List of justices of appeal

	Name	Tenure	Reason for tenure end	Silk	Ref
1	Gerald Michael Godfrey	1997–2000	Became Vice President of the Court of Appeal	QC (1971)
2	Michael Stuart-Moore, GBS	1997–1999	Became Vice President of the Court of Appeal	QC (1990)
3	Anthony Gordon Rogers, GBS	1997–2000	Became Vice President of the Court of Appeal	QC (1984)
4	Arthur Leong Siu-chung, GBS	1997–2000	Became Chief Judge of the High Court
5	Simon Herbert Mayo, GBS	1997–2000	Became Vice President of the Court of Appeal
6	Sir Brian Richard Keith	1999–2001	Retired	QC (1989)
7	Michael Wong Kin-chow, GBS	1999–2001	Retired
8	Woo Kwok-hing, GBS	2000–2004	Became Vice President of the Court of Appeal	QC (1987)	^[18]
9	Roberto Alexandre Vieira Ribeiro, GBM	2000	Became Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal	QC (1990)
10	Doreen Maria Le Pichon, GBS	2000–2011	Retired
11	Frank Stock, GBS	2000–2009	Became Vice President of the Court of Appeal	QC (1985)	^[19]
12	Peter Cheung Chak-yau	2001–
13	Wally Yeung Chun-kuen, GBS	2002–2011	Became Vice President of the Court of Appeal		^[20]
14	Maria Candace Yuen Ka-ning	2002–2023	Retired
15	Geoffrey Ma Tao-li, GBM	2002–2003	Became Chief Judge of the High Court	QC (1993)
16	Robert Tang Kwok-ching, GBM, SBS	2005–2006	Became Vice President of the Court of Appeal	QC (1986)	^[21]
17	Michael John Hartmann, GBS	2008–2012	Retired (Non-permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal)
18	Susan Kwan Shuk-hing	2009–2019	Became Vice President of the Court of Appeal		^[22]
19	Joseph Paul Fok	2011–2013	Became Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal	SC (1999)
20	Carlye Chu Fun-ling	2011–2022	Became Vice President of the Court of Appeal
21	Michael Victor Lunn, GBS	2011–2014	Became Vice President of the Court of Appeal	QC (1994)	^[23]
22	Johnson Lam Man-hon	2012–2013	Became Vice President of the Court of Appeal		^[24]
23	Aarif Tyebjee Barma	2012–		SC (2002)
24	Andrew Colin Macrae	2013–2018	Became Vice President of the Court of Appeal	SC (1999)	^[25]
25	Ian Charles McWalters, GBS	2014–2021	Retired	SC (2005)
26	Derek Pang Wai-cheong	2015–
27	Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor	2015–2019	Became Chief Judge of the High Court
28	Kevin Paul Zervos	2018–		SC (2003)
29	Thomas Au Hing-cheung	2019–
30	Anderson Chow Ka-ming	2021–		SC (2004)
31	Godfrey Lam Wan-ho	2021–		SC (2008)
32	Maggie Poon Man-kay	2021–
33	Anthea Pang Po-kam	2021–

See also

• Vice Presidents of the Court of Appeal of Hong Kong
• High Court of Hong Kong
• Judiciary of Hong Kong
• Appellate court

External links

• Hong Kong Judiciary website, High Court page

Notes and References

1. A Solicitor v The Law Society of Hong Kong. FACV. 24. 2007. 60404., reported at (2008) 11 HKCFAR 117, at para. 21
2. A Solicitor v The Law Society of Hong Kong. FACV. 24. 2007. 60404., reported at (2008) 11 HKCFAR 117, at para. 21
3. See, for example, Chan Pui-ki v Leung On. CACV. 263. 1995. 58663., reported at [1996] 2 HKLRD 401, which was heard by the Vice President of the Court of Appeal (Mr Justice Litton) and four Justices of Appeal (Mr Justice Bokhary, Mr Justice Mortimer, Mr Justice Godfrey and Mr Justice Ching)
4. https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap4 High Court Ordinance (Cap. 4), Section 34B(4)
5. https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap4 High Court Ordinance (Cap. 4), Section 35(1)
6. https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap4 High Court Ordinance (Cap. 4), Section 34(2A)
7. https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap4 High Court Ordinance (Cap. 4), Section 34A
8. A Solicitor v The Law Society of Hong Kong. FACV. 24. 2007. 60404., reported at (2008) 11 HKCFAR 117, at para. 57
9. Chiu Hoi Po v Commissioner of Police. CACV. 200. 2006. 60230., reported at [2008] 4 HKLRD 67, at para. 45
10. A Solicitor v The Law Society of Hong Kong. FACV. 24. 2007. 60404., reported at (2008) 11 HKCFAR 117, at para. 58
11. https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap4 High Court Ordinance (Cap. 4), Section 34(5)-(6)
12. https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap4 High Court Ordinance (Cap. 4), Section 34B(5)
13. See, for example, Eugene Jae-Hoon Oh v Kate Gaskell Richdale. CACV. 162. 2003. 45681., reported at [2005] 2 HKLRD 285, in which Ma CJHC and Cheung JA disagreed on the outcome. The case was subsequently re-heard before Woo VP, Le Pichon JA and Chung J in Eugene Jae-Hoon Oh v Kate Gaskell Richdale. CACV. 162. 2003. 46541. .
14. https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap4 High Court Ordinance (Cap. 4), Section 5(2)
15. https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap221 Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Cap. 221), Section 83Y
16. Web site: Standard . The . Jailed gay rights activist loses appeal to have Hong Kong marriage laws reviewed . 2022-08-25 . The Standard . en.
17. Web site: Ho . Kelly . 2022-11-30 . Landmark Hong Kong appeal ruling confirms minimum sentences for 'serious' national security offences . 2022-11-30 . Hong Kong Free Press HKFP . en-GB.
18. Web site: 2016-10-26 . Retired judge Woo Kwok-hing first to officially throw hat in the ring for Hong Kong's 2017 chief executive election . 2020-07-20 . South China Morning Post . en.
19. Web site: Face to Face with Frank Stock, Former Vice-President of the Court of Appeal Hong Kong Lawyer . 2020-07-20 . www.hk-lawyer.org.
20. Web site: Hong Kong's Legal Services . 2020-07-20 . www.legalhub.gov.hk . en.
21. Web site: Keepthinking . The Honourable Robert TANG Ching, GBM, SBS, JP . 2020-07-20 . www.westkowloon.hk . en.
22. Web site: Appointment of Vice-President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court . 2020-07-20 . www.info.gov.hk.
23. Web site: Michael Lunn to head panel to review bus franchise Hong Kong China Daily . 2020-07-20 . www.chinadailyhk.com.
24. Web site: Judicial appointment . 2020-07-20 . www.info.gov.hk.
25. Web site: Appointment of Vice-President of the Court of Appeal . 2020-07-20 . www.info.gov.hk.