The Judiciary today announced additional transparency measures to enhance public understanding about the reasoning of court decisions as well as complaints against judicial conduct.

Starting from this month, summaries of selected decisions in the District Court and Magistrates’ Courts which may attract great public attention will be prepared and uploaded to the Judiciary website as far as practicable.    

Currently, in accordance with the principle of open justice, all court hearings, save for some very limited exceptions such as those involving children, are open to the public. Judgments and reasons for verdicts and sentencing for the District Court and above are available on the Judiciary website.

Separately, starting from July, where there have been a large number of identical or similar complaints on judicial conduct in relation to any case, the gist of the complaints, investigation outcome and underlying considerations will be posted online.

An investigation into the first batch of complaints has been completed and relevant information has been posted on the webpage.

The Judiciary said in line with the cardinal principle of judicial independence, it cannot and will not handle complaints against judicial or statutory decisions, which should be dealt with via appeal, review or related judicial proceedings.