Delays are the bane of criminal justice systems everywhere. Not only defendants but also victims of crime and other witnesses hope for early trials. The longer the delay, the greater the ordeal for the defendants, and the bigger the risk that witnesses will disappear, that memories will fade, and that justice will not be done.

Although not all cases in Hong Kong are processed as expeditiously as might be hoped, the situation is far better than in many other common law jurisdictions.

In England and Wales, for example, trial delays are particularly worrying. In the first quarter of 2023, the mean average time it took for a serious criminal offense to be finally determined was 676 days, while the median average was 398 days.

On Sept 28, 2023, this prompted the then-president of the Law Society of England and Wales, Lubna Shuja, to say, “The long delays faced by victims and defendants in our courts are simply unacceptable and the government is failing to tackle the crisis.” She added, “The entire criminal justice system is fracturing,” and highlighted the “crumbling courts, overwhelmed prisons and a chronic shortage of lawyers and judges”.

When there are inordinate delays, the crime victims are often severely affected. On March 28, when responding to the news that over a quarter of all cases (27 percent) had been outstanding for over a year, England’s victims’ commissioner, Baroness (Helen) Newlove, said, “No victim should be expected to wait years before their case gets to court,” as this denied them “justice and closure”.

Unfortunately for defendants, there is no fixed time in which to hear criminal cases in the UK, although judges do all they can to keep things moving. Some defendants wait for years for their trials to begin, and unless a defendant can show he or she has been prejudiced by the delay, there is little that can be done about it.

Similar delays have occurred in Ireland, and the Court Proceedings (Delays) Act 2024 now provides defendants with the right to have their cases processed within a reasonable time, and if this is violated, they are entitled to compensation.

In Hong Kong, the Basic Law provides that a defendant has “the right to a fair trial by the judicial organs without delay” (Art.87). However, this does not mean that every case must be expedited, as it is sometimes impossible. If the courts have a large workload, or if the case is complex or has a multitude of witnesses, trials cannot be rushed. Although delays are unavoidable, Hong Kong is fortunate, unlike the UK, to have modern courts, state-of-the-art detention facilities, and an abundance of lawyers. However, more judges are urgently needed, given the caseload.

On March 31, 2023, shortly before the latest recruitment drive got underway, the Judiciary had an establishment of 222 posts, of which only 166 were substantively filled (meaning 56 posts, or 25.2 percent, were vacant).

On June 24, the Judiciary updated the Legislative Council on the waiting times for court proceedings. It handled over 520,000 cases in 2023, an increase over 2022 of almost 10 percent. The number of criminal cases in the Court of First Instance (CFI) increased from 223 cases in 2022 to 446 in 2023 (including cases associated with the violence of 2019 and national security law violations). At least in the short term, the trend was expected to continue, leading to a slowing down in the listing of pending trials. Pressure notwithstanding, the CFI was able to dispose of 301 criminal cases (and 14,055 civil cases) in 2023, an increase of 27 percent compared with the previous year.

In the District Court, where a series of riot trials has been conducted, there was a 16 percent increase in the workload in 2023 compared to the previous year. Although the average waiting time for a trial at the end of March was 416 days, it improved on the 442 days’ wait in 2023. While this greatly exceeded the District Court’s target figure of 100 days, it has now concluded 90 percent of the insurrection cases, meaning that waiting times will hopefully decline in the foreseeable future.

One enduring problem has been the shortage of judges, particularly in the CFI. Although the number of recorders (temporary judges) and deputy judges (often retired judges or lower court judges acting up) has significantly assisted, there is no substitute for a full complement, as the Judiciary acknowledges. It remains optimistic and told the Legislative Council, “We expect to see gradual improvements to the court waiting times for proceedings in the CFI, and a more substantial improvement in about two years upon the clearance of the various national security cases and the appointment of additional CFI judges starting from the second half of 2024, following the completion of the recruitment exercise in late 2023.”

In the meantime, the Judiciary seeks to expedite court proceedings in various ways. They include the broader use of technology, the wider use of remote hearings, closer liaison with the legal profession, and more courtrooms. The recent recruitment exercise will hopefully have attracted some outstanding lawyers from the private and public sectors who can hit the ground running.

At some point, the recruits must also be able to assume positions in the Court of Appeal, where the very highest standards are vital. As appellate judges retire, they are invariably replaced by CFI judges, creating further vacancies in the trial courts. If the vacancies cannot be filled by local people of the right quality, the Basic Law recognizes that judges can be recruited from other common law jurisdictions (Art.92). There is also the option of incentivizing senior solicitors to assume judicial appointments, and this is a talent pool that has yet to be fully trawled.

Although some people may be alarmed by US threats to harm the Judiciary, their interests will undoubtedly be safeguarded. Moreover, fearlessness has always been a defining characteristic of the city’s judges.

Hong Kong is fortunate to have one of the most professional judiciaries in the Asia-Pacific region. Its reputation is based not only on its independence and professionalism, but also upon its excellence. If the rule of law is to be maintained, its standards cannot be compromised, and the role of the judges in ensuring this does not happen is pivotal.

Although there are politicians elsewhere who wish to undermine the Judiciary in the hope of harming Hong Kong, the most effective way of countering them is to appoint judges of the highest quality, and the Judiciary must do whatever it takes to find them.

The author is a senior counsel and law professor, and was previously the director of public prosecutions of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.