Topic summary
Hong Kong Court of Appeal
22°16′41.38″N114°9′47.23″E / 22.2781611°N 114.1631194°E
The Court of Appeal (HKCA in ; CA in action numbers) is the upper court of the High Court of Hong Kong (the lower court being Court of First Instance). The Court of Appeal is the second most senior court in the Hong Kong judiciary, after the Court of Final Appeal.
The hierarchy of the Hong Kong judiciary from high to low is: the Court of Final Appeal, the High Court (consisting of the upper Court of Appeal and the lower Court of First Instance), the District Court, and magistrates' courts.
The Court of Appeal deals with appeals on all civil and criminal cases from the Court of First Instance and the District Court. Criminal appeals from the magistrates' Courts of great general or public importance may also be heard by 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 Court of Appeal was established in 1976, and its president is the Chief Judge of the High Court.
Decisions of the Court of Appeal are binding on all courts and tribunals in Hong Kong, including itself, except for the Court of Final Appeal. The Court of Appeal however has the power to depart from its own decisions if they find them to be "plainly wrong".