Handling of complaints against judge’s conduct

The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:

     The Judiciary has recently been receiving a large number of complaints against the same judge or judicial officer in relation to various judicial decisions and court cases, with such complaints being of an identical or similar nature. As instructed by the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, to enable more efficient communication and handling of such complaints, as of today (July 13), the Secretariat for Complaints against Judicial Conduct may, where appropriate and on the direction of the relevant Court Leader, post the gist of and response to these complaints on its website instead of replying to each complaint individually (www.judiciary.hk/en/about_us/judicial_conduct.html).

     The Judiciary would like to reiterate that complaints against judicial or statutory decisions cannot and will not be handled. The only appropriate way of dealing with any dissatisfaction with judicial or statutory decisions is for the parties to the proceeding to use appropriate legal procedures such as appeal or review. 

     Besides, to avoid undermining judicial independence, complaints with ongoing court proceedings (including appeals) will only be handled after the conclusion of all relevant court proceedings.