Long waiting times for Hong Kong courts set to ease, judiciary says

The courts had cleared about 96 per cent of more than 2,350 cases linked to the 2019 anti-government protests, the judiciary told lawmakers on Monday. About 86 per cent of more than 230 national security cases have been cleared by the courts.

Lawmakers were also told at a Legislative Council special Finance Committee meeting about the judiciary’s plan to hire 10 private legal practitioners this year as deputy judges to help clear a backlog of about 8,500 cases related to non-refoulement claims.

Lawmakers expressed concerns at the meeting over the long waiting times for court proceedings.

Judiciary administrator Esther Leung Yuet-yin said “substantial improvements” to court waiting times for proceedings could be expected in the coming years.

“With the majority of the remaining [2019 unrest and national security] cases being set down for trial in 2025, their impact on the court waiting times for other proceedings is expected to be gradually reduced,” she said.