Index page
Controlling
Officer : Judiciary Administrator
Session No. : 16
File name : S-JA-e1.rtf
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Reply
Serial
No. |
Question Serial
No. |
Reply
Serial
No. |
Question Serial
No. |
Reply
Serial
No. |
Question Serial
No. |
S-JA01 |
SV33 |
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SV34 |
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Replies to supplementary questions raised by Finance
Committee Members in examining the Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07
Controlling
Officer : Judiciary Administrator
Session No. : 16
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Reply
Serial No. |
Question Serial
No. |
Name of Member |
Head
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Programme |
S-JA01 |
SV33 |
Hon Audrey EU |
80
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Courts and Tribunals |
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SV34 |
Hon Audrey EU |
80 |
Support Services for
Courts’ Operation |
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Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
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CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
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Question Serial No. |
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SV33 |
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Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
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Programme : (1) Courts
and Tribunals
Controlling Officer : Judiciary Administrator
Director of Bureau :
Judiciary Administrator
Question :
The Judiciary Administration
to provide information on the average waiting times at various levels of courts
in adjournment cases, i.e. waiting time from the date of first hearing to the
date of adjournment.
Asked by : Hon. EU Yuet-mee, Audrey
Reply :
The Judiciary does not have
available information on those waiting times requested by the Hon. Audrey Eu.
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Signature |
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Name in block letters |
EMMA
LAU |
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Post Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
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Date |
20
March 2006 |
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Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
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CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
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Question Serial No. |
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SV34 |
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Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
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Programme : (2) Support
Services for Courts' Operation
Controlling Officer : Judiciary Administrator
Director of Bureau :
Judiciary Administrator
Question :
The Judiciary Administration to provide information on the satisfaction
ratings given by users of the Resource Centre for Unrepresented Litigants and
feedback on service improvements as reflected in the users’ survey conducted on
the Resource Centre.
Asked by : Hon. EU Yuet-mee, Audrey
Reply :
A User Satisfaction
Survey was conducted in July 2005. Over
90% of the respondents were satisfied with the performance of the Resource
Centre.
The Resource Centre Consultative Committee, appointed by the Chief Justice
and chaired by Madam Justice Chu, is reviewing the operation of the Resource
Centre having regard to the results of the Survey. It will submit a report to the Chief Justice towards the end of
this year with recommendations on the future development of the Resource
Centre.
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Signature |
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Name in block letters |
EMMA
LAU |
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Post Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
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Date |
20
March 2006 |
Index page
Controlling
Officer : Judiciary Administrator
Session No. : 16
File name : JA-e1.rtf
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Reply
Serial
No. |
Question Serial
No. |
Reply
Serial
No. |
Question Serial
No. |
Reply
Serial
No. |
Question Serial
No. |
JA001 |
0831 |
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0832 |
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0833 |
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0935 |
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0936 |
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0937 |
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1011 |
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1012 |
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1013 |
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1014 |
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1015 |
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1195 |
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2032 |
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2143 |
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2144 |
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Replies to initial
written questions raised by Finance Committee Members in
Examining the
Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07
Controlling Officer
: Judiciary Administrator
Session No. : 16
|
Reply
Serial No. |
Question Serial
No. |
Name of Member |
Head |
Programme |
JA001 |
0831 |
Hon. LI Fung-ying |
80
|
Courts and Tribunals |
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0832 |
Hon. LI Fung-ying |
80 |
Support Services for
Courts' Operation |
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0833 |
Hon. LI Fung-ying |
80 |
Courts and Tribunals Support Services for Courts' Operation |
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0935 |
Hon. LEE Chu-ming, Martin |
80 |
Support Services for Courts' Operation |
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0936 |
Hon. LEE Chu-ming, Martin |
80 |
Courts and Tribunals |
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0937 |
Hon. LEE Chu-ming, Martin |
80 |
Courts and Tribunals |
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1011 |
Hon. NG Margaret |
80 |
Courts and Tribunals |
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1012 |
Hon. NG Margaret |
80
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Courts and Tribunals |
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1013 |
Hon. NG Margaret |
80 |
Support Services for Courts' Operation |
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1014 |
Hon. NG Margaret |
80 |
Courts and Tribunals Support Services for Courts' Operation |
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1015 |
Hon. NG Margaret |
80 |
Support Services for Courts'
Operation |
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1195 |
Hon. KWONG Chi-kin |
80 |
Courts and Tribunals |
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2032 |
Hon. LI Kwok-ying |
80 |
Courts and Tribunals |
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2143 |
Hon. WONG Kwok-hing |
80 |
Courts and Tribunals
Support Services for Courts' Operation |
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2144 |
Hon. WONG Kwok-hing |
80 |
Courts and Tribunals |
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Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
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CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
JA001
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Question Serial No. |
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0831 |
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Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
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Programme: |
(1) Courts and Tribunals |
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Controlling Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Question:
It is noted that the actual average waiting time
from appointment to filing of a case with the Labour Tribunal in 2004 and 2005
are 8 and 13 days respectively, which are shorter than the target waiting time of
30 days as is originally required.
Inspite of this, the Judiciary still set the planned average waiting
time for 2006 at 30 days. What is the
reason for this? Will the Judiciary consider setting the target waiting time
for a shorter period of less than 20 days?
Asked by: Hon. LI Fung-ying
Reply:
The planned waiting time of 30
days from appointment booking to filing of claim is our target performance
pledge. Although the caseload has
decreased, the situation may change
rapidly. It is therefore prudent to
keep this target for 2006. However, the
Labour Tribunal will, as in previous years, continue to strive to achieve an
actual waiting time as short as possible.
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Signature |
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Name in block letters |
EMMA LAU |
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Post Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
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Date |
13 March 2006 |
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Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
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CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
JA002
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Question Serial No. |
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0832 |
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Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
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Programme: |
(2) Support Services for
Courts' Operation |
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Controlling Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Question:
The Judiciary plans to
revamp the Labour Tribunal Computer System in September 2006. Please supply
information on the objectives, details of the plan and the expenses involved. Will
the plan affect the operation of the Labour Tribunal? If it will, please give
details, and what measures will be taken to prevent the tribunal’s operation
from being affected?
Asked by: Hon. LI Fung-ying
Reply:
The
revamping of the Labour Tribunal Computer System focuses on four areas :
(a)
the
Labour Department will refer claims to the Labour Tribunal electronically, so
that the claimants need not repeat their particulars at the Labour Tribunal;
(b)
directions
of the Tribunal regarding submission/exchange of documents are captured by the
computer system, to which the litigants could access with a code provided to
them by the Labour Tribunal;
(c)
awards/orders
will be generated by the computer instead of manually as at present; and
(d)
pamphlets
and guidelines issued by the Labour Tribunal will be uploaded to the computer
for internet access.
The plans, costing about $3.9m,
will not impact on the procedure of the Labour Tribunal but will enhance its
efficiency and improve its services to the litigants.
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Signature |
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Name in block letters |
EMMA LAU |
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Post Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
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Date |
13 March 2006 |
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Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
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CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
JA003
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Question Serial No. |
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0833 |
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Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
000 Operational expenses |
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Programme: |
(1) Courts and Tribunals (2) Support Services for Courts'
Operation |
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Controlling
Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Question:
It is estimated that 40 posts will be
deleted in 2006-07. What are the posts,
ranks, years of service and terms of appointment of the staff involved and in
what way will these posts be deleted by the Judiciary? What are the impacts of the reduction in the
size of establishment on the operation of the Labour Tribunal? What measures will be taken by the Judiciary
to cope with the change to ensure that service will not be affected?
Asked
by: Hon. LI Fung-ying
Reply:
The 40 posts intended for deletion in 2006-07 are all vacant permanent posts
when they are deleted. No serving staff
will be affected. The posts are –
|
Rank |
No. of Posts
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Assistant Clerical Officer |
16 |
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Clerical Assistant |
6 |
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Office Assistant |
1 |
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Typist |
1 |
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Bailiff’s Assistant |
6 |
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Head Property Attendant |
1 |
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Property Attendant Workman II |
8 1 |
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Total
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40 |
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There is no reduction of posts in the Labour
Tribunal and hence there is no impact on its operation.
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Signature |
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Name in block letters |
EMMA LAU |
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Post Title |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Date |
13 March 2006 |
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Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
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CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
JA004
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Question Serial No. |
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0935 |
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Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
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Programme: |
(2) Support Services for
Courts' Operation |
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Controlling Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Question:
With regard to the Resource Centre For Unrepresented
Litigants, please (a) give the number of users seeking legal support through the
Centre, the size of the establishment, and the actual expenditure in the years
2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively and (b) what are the projected number of
users, size of the establishment and expenditure for the year 2006-07?
Asked by: Hon. LEE
Chu-ming, Martin
Reply:
The
Resource Centre for Unrepresented Litigants commenced operation on
22 December 2003. The information
for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 is as follows :
|
|
2004 |
2005 |
2006 (Estimate) |
|
No. of users: Visits Telephone enquiries Access to webpage |
4 268 2 591 174 968 |
3 877 2 746 154 404 |
4
000 3 000 160 000 |
|
Staff
strength: |
5 |
5 |
5 |
|
Approximate expenditure: Salaries Recurrent expenses Production of videos and brochures |
$1,800,000 $360,000 $820,000 |
$1,800,000 $360,000 $120,000 |
$1,800,000 $360,000 $200,000 |
|
Signature |
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|
Name in block letters |
EMMA LAU |
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Post Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
|
Date |
13 March 2006 |
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|
Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
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CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
JA005
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Question Serial No. |
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0936 |
||||
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Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
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Programme: |
(1) Courts and Tribunals |
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Controlling Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Question:
The Judiciary stated in the relevant
programme that “with the improving economic conditions, the caseload of the
Labour Tribunal in 2005 decreased by about 16%” .Why is the waiting time in
2005 longer than that of 2004? And it is anticipated that the waiting time in
the year 2006-07 is much longer than the waiting times achieved in the years
2004 and 2005. What is the reason?
Asked by: Hon. LEE
Chu-ming, Martin
Reply:
Following the judgment of the
Court of First Instance in HCA 6733/1999 (Lajom and Others v Cathay Pacific Airways
Limited) in March 2005, the Labour Tribunal received a large number of
appointments for filing of claims by employees of a few airline companies. This led to a sudden upsurge of cases and
adversely affected the waiting time from appointment booking to filing of claim
for a period of about 3 months. As
a result, the average waiting time was lengthened. The waiting time returned to a low level again in the latter part
of 2005, comparable to that in 2004.
The planned waiting time of 30
days from appointment booking to filing of claim is our target performance
pledge. Although the caseload has
decreased, the situation may change rapidly.
It is therefore prudent to keep this target for 2006. However, the Labour Tribunal will, as in
previous years, continue to strive to achieve an actual waiting time as short
as possible.
|
Signature |
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|
Name in block letters |
EMMA LAU |
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Post Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
|
Date |
13 March 2006 |
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|
Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
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CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
JA006
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Question Serial No. |
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0937 |
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Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
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Programme: |
(1) Courts and Tribunals |
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Controlling Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Question:
Judiciary stated in the relevant programme that more judicial resources
have been deployed in the latter part of 2005 with a view to shortening the
waiting times for Criminal Fixture List and Civil Fixture List. However, the waiting times of the said two
types of cases in the Court of First Instance in 2005 still far exceed their
respective target waiting times.
Judiciary anticipated that the waiting time for the Criminal Fixture
List in 2006 will still be longer than the target waiting time. Will the Judiciary undertake any work
process enhancement initiatives in 2006-07 to further shorten the waiting times
of the said two types of cases in the Court of First Instance? If yes, please give details.
Asked by: Hon. LEE
Chu-ming. Martin
Reply:
The Judiciary has deployed
additional resources to increase the number of deputy judges in the High Court
over the last six months. Plans are
also in hand to enhance temporary judicial resources further in the High Court
in 2006-07, and to start recruiting High Court Judges later this year. These measures would help shorten the
waiting times for the Criminal Fixture List and the Civil Fixture List and to
keep them within reasonable periods.
|
Signature |
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|
Name in block letters |
EMMA LAU |
|
Post Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
|
Date |
13 March 2006 |
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|
Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
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CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
JA007
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Question Serial No. |
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1011 |
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Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
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Programme: |
(1) Courts and Tribunals |
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Controlling Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Question:
Significant failure to meet the
target is noted on nearly all level of courts, but particularly in the Court of
First Instance where the length of time from filing of indictment to hearing
was 193 days for the Criminal Fixture List, and 233 days from application to fix
date to hearing in the Civil Fixture List.
At the same time, there is a – 4.4% difference between the Originals and
Revised estimate of 2005-2006. (a) What
was the reason for the reduction and how did it affect performance? (b) Please explain whether the estimate for
2006-07 has taken into account the need to improve and if so what is proposed
to be done. (c) Please provide
information on the length of time between the conclusion of trial and judgment
by level of courts, as compared to target, if any.
Asked by: Hon. NG Margaret
Reply:
|
(a) |
The reduction in requirements of 4.4% ($30.9M) in
the revised estimate of 2005-06 against the original estimate is mainly due
to vacancies ($27.3M) and the decrease in cashflow requirements for non-recurrent
and capital projects ($3.8M). The
vacancies include both judicial and non-judicial posts. To ensure that the Judiciary is provided
with adequate resources to deliver judicial services of high quality and to
avoid further worsening of the court waiting times, the Judiciary has decided
to defreeze recruitment of judges and judicial officers (JJOs) and to appoint
additional deputy JJOs to cope with the judicial work, and to provide the
necessary support to the additional JJOs.
To this end, the Judiciary has deployed additional |
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(b) |
Provision has been included in 2006-07 to recruit
JJOs ($18.5M), to appoint additional deputy JJOs ($5.9M) and to provide
additional support staff and services ($3.7M). |
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(c) |
Information on the length of time between the
conclusion of hearing and judgment in respect of civil and criminal appeals
to the Court of Final Appeal and the Court of Appeal, magisterial and minor
appeals to the Court of First Instance, and civil trials in the Court of
First Instance and the District Court is set out in the following table.
The
Judiciary does not maintain similar statistics on criminal trials as the verdicts
are usually given at the conclusion of trial immediately or within a
relatively short time after conclusion of trial. For proceedings in the Small Claims Tribunal and the Labour
Tribunal, oral judgments are also usually given immediately after trial. The
Judiciary has not set target times for delivery or handing down of reserved
judgments after trial. As stated in
the Guide to Judicial Conduct, judges should deliver reserved judgments
within a reasonable time, taking into account the complexity of the matter
and other work commitments. |
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Signature |
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Name in block letters |
EMMA
LAU |
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Post Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
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Date |
13
March 2006 |
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Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
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CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
JA008
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Question Serial No. |
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1012 |
|||||
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Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
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Programme: |
(1) Courts and Tribunals |
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Controlling Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Question:
It is explained in Note 5 that the average waiting
time for civil cases in the District Court has increased considerably in 2005
due to the increased in the length of civil trials and the complexity of the
cases. What provision has been made to
control and reduce the waiting time in the 2006 estimate?
Asked by: Hon. NG
Margaret
Reply:
The waiting time from the date
of listing to hearing of civil cases in the District Court was 120 days in
2005. This was still within
target. Nevertheless, in order to
shorten the waiting time as far as practicable, the Judiciary has deployed
additional resources to increase the number of civil judges in the District
Court by appointing deputy judges over the last six months. Plans are also in hand to enhance temporary
judicial resources further in the District Court, and to start recruiting
District Judges later this year.
|
Signature |
|
|
Name in block letters |
EMMA LAU |
|
Post Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
|
Date |
13 March 2006 |
|
|
Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
|||||
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CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
JA009
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|||||
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Question Serial No. |
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1013 |
|||||
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Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
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|||||
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Programme: |
(2) Support Services for
Courts' Operation |
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||||||
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Controlling Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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||||||
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Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
|
||||||
Question:
Please explain the reasons for the reduction of 8.6% in the Revised 2005-06
estimate and the increase of 2.2% in the 2006-07 estimate.
Asked
by: Hon NG Margaret
Reply:
|
Signature |
|
|
Name in block letters |
EMMA
LAU |
|
Post Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
|
Date |
13 March 2006 |
|
Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2005-06 |
Reply Serial No. |
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CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
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Question Serial No. |
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1014 |
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|||||||
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Head: 80
Judiciary |
Subhead (No. & title): |
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Programme: |
(1) Courts and Tribunals (2) Support
Services for Courts' Operation
|
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Controlling
Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
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Question:
The size of the establishment
of the Judiciary shrank from 1802 in 2003 to 1747 in 2004, to 1641 in 2005,
1591 in 2006, and estimated to shrink further to 1551 in 2007. Please provide :
(a) the breakdown of judicial and non-judicial
posts reduced by level of court; and
(b) the reason for the continued decrease,
particularly in light of the increasing workload, longer trials and greater
complexity of the cases, and the significant fall from target.
Asked by: Hon. NG Margaret
Reply:
(a)
Apart
from the lapse of 1 supernumerary post of Justice of Appeal of the Court of
Appeal of the High Court in September 2003, there has not been any reduction in
the permanent establishment in respect of judicial posts in the years under
question. The said supernumerary post of Justice of Appeal of the Court of
Appeal was originally created for accommodating the replacement of a Justice of
Appeal appointed as Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC). Due to the change in work requirements of
the EAC, a full post was no longer needed for the new term of office of the
Chairman of EAC commencing September 2003.
As regards
support staff, a total of 210 posts would have been
deleted from 2003-04 to 2005-06. All these 210 posts are vacant posts when they
are deleted. Distribution of these 210
non-judicial posts in different courts as well as sections supporting courts’
operation is as follows –
|
|
|
|
No. of Posts
|
|
(i) |
Court of Final Appeal |
|
4 |
|
(ii) |
High Court |
|
7 |
|
(iii) |
District Court |
|
10 |
|
(iv) |
Magistrates’ Courts / Tribunals |
|
101 |
|
(v) |
Supporting Sections |
|
88 |
|
|
Total
|
|
210 |
In 2006-07, it is planned that the following 40 vacant
non-judicial posts will be deleted from the Magistrates' Courts and
sections supporting courts’ operations –
|
|
|
|
No. of Posts
|
|
(i) |
Magistrates’ Courts |
|
6 |
|
(ii) |
Supporting Sections |
|
34 |
|
|
Total
|
|
40 |
(b) Over the years, the Judiciary has adopted a number of measures to achieve the saving
target set by the Administration, mainly through rationalization of resources;
re-alignment of management structure; and streamlining, re-engineering and
re-prioritization of work. The reduction of 250 non-judicial posts has resulted from these measures and these
posts have been
gradually vacated upon natural wastage of the incumbents through normal retirement, participation in the second voluntary
retirement scheme or re-deployment out of the Judiciary. However,
having reviewed the long waiting time for cases to be heard in courts, the
Judiciary has planned to start appointing additional Judges and Judicial
Officers (JJOs) and has been increasing temporary judicial resources for
various levels of courts. To provide
support for these additional JJOs, adequate support staff will be engaged.
|
Signature |
|
|
Name
in block letters |
EMMA
LAU |
|
Post
Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
|
Date |
13
March 2006 |
|
|
Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
||||
|
|
CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
JA011
|
||||
|
|
|
Question Serial No. |
||||
|
|
|
1015 |
||||
|
Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
|
|
||||
|
Programme: |
(2) Support Services for
Courts'Operation |
|
|||||
|
Controlling Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
|
|||||
|
Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
|
|||||
Question:
Please provide the expenditure on the Resource Centre
of the High Court, and the rate of its usage by members of the public.
Asked by: Hon. NG
Margaret
Reply:
The Resource Centre for
Unrepresented Litigants commenced operation on 22 December 2003. The information for the years 2004, 2005 and
2006 is as follows :
|
|
2004 |
2005 |
2006 (Estimate) |
|
No. of users: Visits Telephone enquiries Access to webpage |
4 268 2 591 174 968 |
3 877 2 746 154 404 |
4
000 3 000 160 000 |
|
Staff
strength: |
5 |
5 |
5 |
|
Approximate expenditure: Salaries Recurrent expenses Production of videos and brochures |
$1,800,000 $360,000 $820,000 |
$1,800,000 $360,000 $120,000 |
$1,800,000 $360,000 $200,000 |
|
Signature |
|
|
Name in block letters |
EMMA LAU |
|
Post Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
|
Date |
13 March 2006 |
|
|
Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
||||
|
|
CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
JA012
|
||||
|
|
|
Question Serial No. |
||||
|
|
|
1195 |
||||
|
Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
|
|
||||
|
Programme: |
(1) Courts and Tribunals |
|
|||||
|
Controlling Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
|
|||||
|
Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
|
|||||
Question:
With regard to the
8 273 cases and 6 900 cases that the Labour Tribunal dealt with in
2004 and 2005, will the Government inform this Panel:
a)
the number of
cases of which the claims were made against employers and the number of cases
of which the claims were made against
employees;
b)
the amount of
claims and the number of litigants involved in each case;
c)
the respective
numbers of claims which were settled, withdrawn, allowed and dismissed;
d)
which three
fields of trade make up the largest number of labour claims filed;
e)
the number of
cases which had to be transferred to the District Court, the High Court and the
Small Claims Tribunal and the reasons for transfer of trial, with a breakdown
by category?
Asked by: Hon. KWONG
Chi-kin
Reply:
|
|
|
2004 |
2005 |
|
(a) |
Number of cases
filed: |
|
|
|
|
·
by employees ·
by employees
in which counterclaims were lodged by employers ·
by employers |
7 888 322
63 |
6 588
253
59 |
|
|
|
2004 |
2005 |
|
(b) |
Amount
of claims (excluding claims for compensation to be assessed) |
$1,035m |
$979m |
|
|
Number of
litigants: ·
Claimants ·
Defendants |
20 230 11 261 |
15 130
9 001 |
|
|
|
2004 |
2005 |
|
(c) |
Number of cases: |
|
|
|
|
·
settled ·
withdrawn ·
awarded ·
dismissed |
4 892 1 043 2 195
435 |
3 758 836 1 591
350 |
|
(d) |
The Judiciary does not have available
information on the fields of trade of the labour claims. |
|
|
|
2004 |
2005 |
|
(e) |
Number of cases: |
|
|
|
|
·
transferred to
the High Court ·
transferred
to the District Court ·
transferred
to the Small Claims Tribunal |
15
29 13 |
12 19
4 |
The Judiciary does not have available information on the reasons for
transfer.
|
Signature |
|
|
Name in block letters |
EMMA LAU |
|
Post Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
|
Date |
13 March 2006 |
|
|
Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
|||||
|
|
CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
JA013
|
|||||
|
|
|
Question Serial No. |
|||||
|
|
|
2032 |
|||||
|
Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
000 Operational expenses |
|
|||||
|
Programme: |
(1) Courts and Tribunals |
|
||||||
|
Controlling Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
|
||||||
|
Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
|
||||||
Question:
The
Administration is going to make a law for the purpose of regulating the conduct
of interception of communications and covert surveillance. Under the legislative
proposals, the authorizing authority for most of the operations would be vested
in a Judge. The Judiciary is thus faced
with the urgent need of recruiting additional manpower. That being the case, have any financial
provisions been made in the 2006-07 estimate in the light of the additional
resources so required? If no, what
appropriate arrangements will be made by the Judiciary within the general
context of the existing resources (Please see the Panel Paper attached)?
Asked by: Hon. LI Kwok-ying
Reply:
No financial provisions have
been earmarked in the 2006-07 estimates for the Judiciary to undertake
the additional functions arising from the Administration’s legislative proposals concerning interception
of communications
and covert
surveillance.
If the legislative proposals are enacted and implemented, it would be
necessary to provide the Judiciary with sufficient resources. The Administration is aware of the
Judiciary’s position on adequate resources required. The Judiciary is in continuing discussion with the Administration on this matter.
|
Signature |
|
|
Name in block letters |
Miss Emma Lau |
|
Post Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
|
Date |
13 March 2006 |
|
|
Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
|||||
|
|
CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
JA014
|
|||||
|
|
|
Question Serial No. |
|||||
|
|
|
2143 |
|||||
|
Head:
80 Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
000 Operational expenses |
|
|||||
|
Programme: |
(1) Courts and Tribunals (2) Support Services for Courts'
Operation |
|
||||||
|
Controlling
Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
|
||||||
|
Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
|
||||||
Question:
In 2006-07, the Judiciary will delete 40
posts, please provide information on :–
(a)
the titles, ranks and number of the posts to deleted;
(b)
the reasons for the deletion;
(c)
the redistribution arrangement of the work originally taken up by
the holders of such posts;
(d)
the anticipated amount of savings of expenses; and
(e)
whether such amount will be allocated in full for provision of
departmental operating expenses.
Asked
by: Hon. Wong Kwok-hing
Reply:
(a) The 40 posts to be
deleted in 2006-07 are all
vacant permanent posts
when they are deleted. The posts are –
|
Rank |
No. of Posts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Assistant Clerical Officer |
16 |
|
|
|
Clerical Assistant |
6 |
|
|
|
Office Assistant |
1 |
|
|
|
Typist |
1 |
|
|
|
Bailiff’s Assistant |
6 |
|
|
|
Head Property Attendant |
1 |
|
|
|
Property Attendant Workman II |
8 1 |
|
|
Total
|
40 |
|
|
(b)&(c) Over the years, the Judiciary has introduced
a number of efficiency initiatives to make optimal use of resources through
rationalization of resources; re-alignment of management structure; and
streamlining, re‑engineering and re-prioritization of work. The 40 posts scheduled for deletion in
2006-07 have resulted from these initiatives and have been vacated upon natural
wastage or re-deployment of the incumbents out of the Judiciary.
(d) Most of these 40 posts
have been vacant for some time with only eight to be vacated by the end of
2006-07. The reduction of these 40 posts would result in a savings of about $5.73 million in notional annual mid-point salary
value. In effect, the actual savings of
these eight posts will be around $420,000.
(e) Financial provision
for posts which are still filled in 2005-06 has not been deducted from
Judiciary’s financial provision for 2006-07.
|
Signature |
|
|
Name
in block letters |
EMMA
LAU |
|
Post
Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
|
Date |
13
March 2006 |
|
|
Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2006-07 |
Reply Serial No. |
|||||
|
|
CONTROLLING
OFFICER'S REPLY TO |
JA015
|
|||||
|
|
|
Question Serial No. |
|||||
|
|
|
2144 |
|||||
|
Head: 80
Judiciary |
Subhead (No. &
title): |
661 Minor plant, vehicles and equipment (block vote) |
|
|||||
|
Programme: |
(1) Courts and Tribunals |
|
||||||
|
Controlling Officer: |
Judiciary Administrator |
|
||||||
|
Director of Bureau: |
Judiciary Administrator |
|
||||||
Question:
|
Provision for
2006-07 under this Subhead will increase by 465.2%, which will be mainly used
for the replacement of fire services installation in three court
buildings. Please set out: |
|
|
(a) |
Which three court buildings need a replacement of fire services
installation; |
|
(b) |
How much expenditure will be involved in relation to each court
building; and |
|
(c) |
How long will each project take? |
Asked by: Hon WONG Kwok-hing
Reply:
|
(a) |
The fire services
installation in the Tuen Mun Law Courts Building, Lands Tribunal and Kwun Tong Law Courts Building will be
replaced in 2006-07. |
|
(b) |
The estimated expenditure for each court building is as follows - (i) Tuen Mun Law Courts Building: $ 951,200; (ii) Lands Tribunal: $170,800; and (iii) Kwun Tong Law Courts Building: $ 174,000. |
|
(c) |
Each replacement project would take about 6 months to complete. |
|
Signature |
|
|
Name in block letters |
EMMA LAU |
|
Post Title |
Judiciary
Administrator |
|
Date |
13 March 2006 |