The Judiciary announced that the Courts (Remote Hearing) Ordinance took effect upon gazettal today, providing a clear legal basis for judges and judicial officers to order remote hearings for court proceedings at various levels of courts and tribunals with due regard to the ordinance’s requirements.

Noting that remote hearings are one of the key initiatives for enhancing the efficiency of court operations, the Judiciary said they save time for parties and participants such as witnesses to commute to law courts for attending court proceedings, thereby facilitating the listing of court proceedings.

The initiative also facilitates the courts in tackling unforeseen circumstances where physical presence by parties may not be possible, the Judiciary added.

Since 2020, over 2,100 remote hearings have been conducted at courts and tribunals, and the experience has been positive. The Judiciary will step up promotion for remote hearings and conduct them more often in suitable proceedings, particularly for short proceedings such as three-minute hearings and non-trial criminal proceedings.

All court users are reminded that the ordinance has introduced new offences to criminalise the unauthorised recording, publishing and broadcast of proceedings in physical and remote hearings, which are liable to a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment and a fine of $100,000.

The ordinance has also amended section 7 of the Summary Offences Ordinance to expand the coverage of the offence of taking photographs in courts to include making images or audio records of any court premises and any person on court premises. The maximum penalty is increased to one year's imprisonment and a fine of $50,000.

While remote hearings are generally applicable to both civil proceedings and non-trial criminal proceedings, the Judiciary plans to start remote hearings for the latter in about six months' time to allow time for stakeholders to prepare.

The Judiciary will issue directions by phases to specify the operational details of remote hearings, including the application procedures, guidelines and related issues.