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The Supreme Court of Hong Kong was the highest court in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta ...
prior to the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...
to the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in 1997 and heard cases of first instance and appeals from the District and Magisrates Courts as well as certain tribunals. The Supreme Court was from 1976 made up of the High Court of Justice (High Court) and the Court of Appeal. On 1 July 1997, the Supreme Court became the High Court which is made up of the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal.


History


Establishment

The Supreme Court was established in 1844 after Hong Kong became a British
Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...
under the
Treaty of Nanjing The Treaty of Nanjing was the peace treaty which ended the First Opium War (1839–1842) between Great Britain and the Qing dynasty of China on 29 August 1842. It was the first of what the Chinese later termed the Unequal Treaties. In the w ...
. The first sitting of the court was on 1 October 1844 presided over by the first Chief Justice, John Walter Hulme.


Appeals

For almost 70 years after establishment of the court, there was no Court of Appeal in Hong Kong. Appeals were either by way or re-hearing or direct to the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...
. From 1913, appeals were heard by a Full Court made up of 3 judges. From 1913 to 1943, a judge of the
British Supreme Court for China The British Supreme Court for China (originally the British Supreme Court for China and Japan) was a court established in the Shanghai International Settlement to try cases against British subjects in China, Japan and Korea under the principles of ...
in Shanghai was eligible to sit on the Full Court. In the 1910s and 1920s, a Shanghai judge would regularly travel to Hong Kong to sit on the Full Court. Sir Havilland de Sausmarez, a judge of the Shanghai court, was the President of the Full Court from 1910 to 1920. From 1926 to 1941, a judge of the Hong Kong Supreme Court also sat on the full court of the
British Supreme Court for China The British Supreme Court for China (originally the British Supreme Court for China and Japan) was a court established in the Shanghai International Settlement to try cases against British subjects in China, Japan and Korea under the principles of ...
. The Court of Appeal was established in 1976. Appeals from the Court of Appeal and Full Court and, certain criminal appeals from the High Court, lay to the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...
in the United Kingdom. In order to appeal to the Privy Council, leave to appeal was required either from the court appealed from or the Privy Council.


Renaming on transfer of sovereignty

After the transfer of sovereignty the Supreme Court was renamed as the High Court and the High Court of the former Supreme Court was renamed the
Court of First Instance A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordan ...
. Appeals from the Court of Appeal (and where there is such a direct appeal, the Court of First Instance) are now heard by the Court of Final Appeal which was established on 1 July 1997.


Buildings

* 1844–1848: A building at the junction of Wyndham and Wellington Streets * 1848–?: Exchange Building, 7 Queen's Road, Central, a building originally erected for Dent & Co. by Tam Achoy. * 1889–1911: No. 29 Queen's Road, Central, between the Post Office and Land Office * 1912–1980: The old Supreme Court Building – until 2012, the Legislative Council Building at 8 Jackson Road, Central, Hong Kong Island. It became the new seat of the Court of Final Appeal in September 2015. * 1980–1983: The
Former French Mission Building The Former French Mission Building is a declared monument located on Government Hill at 1, Battery Path, Central, Hong Kong. It housed the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong from 1 July 1997 to 6 September 2015.Antiquities and Monuments ...
,Finance Committee – Public Works Subcommittee (Papers) 8 Nov 95
"Conversion of the French Mission Building into the Court of Final Appeal"
/ref> later home to the Court of Final Appeal (1997–2015) * 1985–1997: The new Supreme Court Building – now the High Court Building at 38 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong Island


Further reading

A full history of the Supreme Court up to the early 20th Century is in James William Norton-Kyshe's:
The History of the Laws and Courts of Hong Kong: Tracing Consular Jurisdiction in China and Japan and including Parliamentary Debates: And the Rise, Progress, and Successive Changes in the Various Public Institutions of the Colony from the Earliest Period to the Present


See also

*
Judiciary of Hong Kong The Judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the judicial branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Under the Basic Law of Hong Kong, it exercises the judicial power of the Region and is independent of the exec ...
* Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong * Maurice Heenan * Sir Ti-Liang Yang * Sir Denys Roberts * Sir Noel Power *
Sir George Phillippo Sir George Phillippo (1833 – 16 February 1914) was Chief Justice of Hong Kong in the late 19th century. He often attended the Legislative Council of Hong Kong sittings from around 1884 to 1888. Early life and education Phillippo was ...
* Sir Havilland de Sausmarez


References

{{Asia topic, Supreme Court of, title=Supreme Courts of Asia Defunct courts 1844 establishments in Hong Kong Courts and tribunals established in 1844