The Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance 2023 (Commencement) Notice was published in the Government Gazette today. 

The new “no case to answer” appeal mechanism under the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance 2023 will come into operation on April 14.
 
The Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 2023 was passed by the Legislative Council on July 12, 2023.
 
The amendment ordinance provides for a “no case to answer” appeal mechanism, which allows the prosecution to appeal against rulings of no case to answer made by the Court of First Instance of the High Court in criminal trials with a jury. The new appeal mechanism has since awaited enactment of the Criminal Procedure (Appeal against Ruling of No Case to Answer) Rules before it commences.
 
The rules, which set out the procedural matters for the new appeal mechanism to facilitate its smooth operation in practice, were made by the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance on November 14, 2024. The rules were approved by LegCo on January 8, 2025.
 
With a view to bringing the new appeal mechanism into operation as soon as practicable, the Secretary for Justice, under the amendment ordinance, has appointed April 14, 2025, as the day on which the relevant provisions come into operation. The rules will come into operation on the same day.
 
The Department of Justice explained that the new “no case to answer” appeal mechanism addresses the lacuna in the criminal appeal system due to the prosecution's inability to appeal against erroneous rulings of no case to answer made by judges of the Court of First Instance in jury trials and prevents possible miscarriage of justice.
 
The commencement notice will be tabled at LegCo on February 12 for negative vetting.