This undated photo shows the facade of the Court of Final Appeal in Central, Hong Kong. (PHOTO / INFORMATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT, HKSAR)

HONG KONG – The Executive Council has agreed that the pay increase for judges and judicial officers for this year would be 3.62 percent, retrospective from April 1, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said Wednesday.   

The Chief Executive-in-Council approved the salary hike on the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Judicial Salaries and Conditions of Service, which based its deliberations on the need to uphold judicial independence and took a balanced approach taking into account the basket of factors approved in May 2008 and the position of the judiciary.

In its report, the judicial committee noted that the overall caseload handled by the courts has returned to pre-pandemic levels after dropping 20 to 25 percent during the height of COVID-19

The HKSAR government will seek the approval of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council on the proposed pay adjustment.

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In its report, the judicial committee noted that the overall caseload handled by the courts has returned to pre-pandemic levels after dropping 20 to 25 percent during the height of COVID-19.

At the High Court, the number of non-refoulement claims filed by asylum seekers remained high in 2022, the committee said.

It also noted that cases under the National Security Law for Hong Kong are mainly handled at the High Court, each usually involving three judges.

“National Security cases invariably entail longer trials, for which substantial judicial resources have to be expended, thereby impacting the listing of all other criminal cases,” the committee said.

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On the other hand, the District Court had to cope with cases arising from the social unrest in 2019 that involve a large number of defendants and lengthy trials.

“These two types of cases have been posing mounting challenges to the Judiciary in terms of judicial resources, manpower support, competing use of court premises and the provision of suitable media and security arrangements,” the committee added.