The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
The Judiciary today (April 14) announced that court users can start using the Judiciary's integrated Court Case Management System (iCMS) for electronic filing of personal injuries action and tax claims in the District Court and related electronic payments on May 6.
"The iCMS is an integral part of the Judiciary's Information Technology Strategy Plan. It aims to facilitate the handling of court-related documents and payments through an electronic mode. The electronic mode is an additional option on top of the existing channels for transmission of documents on court cases and its use is voluntary," a spokesman for the Judiciary said.
"The Judiciary has been developing in phases the iCMS across all levels of courts. Personal injuries action and tax claims in the District Court are the first two types of proceedings for e-filing. They will be followed by other proceedings in the District Court and other levels of courts in phases," he added.
The major electronic services under the iCMS include sending case-specific court documents to the courts and receiving such documents from the courts, inspecting or searching filed documents and other case-related information held by the courts, searching cause books and making payments for court services.
Eligible users need to register for a user account for full use of the iCMS. They include parties of an ongoing or new e-proceeding and their legal representatives (if any), the Hong Kong Bar Association, the Law Society of Hong Kong, law firms, government departments, law enforcement agencies and statutory bodies. Registration is free of charge.
Unregistered members of the public may also use certain types of iCMS services, mainly related to searching of electronic documents open to public inspection.
To encourage migration from filing and payment in person at court registries and accounts offices to the electronic filing and payment through the iCMS, a 20 per cent concession will be offered to the iCMS users for five years on fee items of the District Court which are primarily or directly related to electronic handling of court documents.
During the first month of the rollout (i.e. May 6 to June 5), the iCMS will operate from 8am to 9pm. The operating hours and the maintenance schedules of the iCMS, as specified by the Judiciary from time to time, will be published on a dedicated webpage on the use of electronic technology with the courts (www.judiciary.hk/en/e_courts/index.html) on the website of the Judiciary from today.
Any e-filing and e-payment received under the iCMS after the physical registry and the accounts office are normally closed to the public (i.e. 5.30pm on a working day) will be deemed to be received upon the starting time of the normal opening hours of the registry and the accounts office on the following working day.
For enquiries, please call the general enquiry hotline at 2477 1002 or the technical helpline at 2886 6474 or email enquiry@judiciary.hk.
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