Secretary for Justice Wong Yan Lung says the Government has no current plan to introduce juries for criminal trials in the District Court.

Mr Wong told lawmakers today, under the existing system, a defendant is equally assured of a fair trial by a judge alone in the District Court. The judge must give a fully reasoned judgment, which may then be scrutinised on appeal. He added the Basic Law and the Bill of Rights Ordinance do not confer on the defendant in criminal proceedings a right to choose trial by jury.

He noted the number of criminal cases tried in Chinese in the District Court had risen from 219 in 2007 to 316 up to September this year, while the number of those in the Court of First Instance did not show a comparable rise. The resource implications and demand on jurors would be considerable if the same number of cases were to be tried each year, he said.

The resources necessary for jury trials include providing suitable accommodation and costs for administrative staff, and allowances paid to jurors. There is also an indirect cost on self-employed jurors and on the jurors' employers, consequential on their absence from work.

It would also be necessary to redesign the District Court rooms to provide for jurors and to add a jury assembly room, separate access and facilities for jurors, including waiting rooms and some overnight accommodation. There would also be manpower implications for support staff and for judges.

Since 2007, the availability of an increased pool of Chinese-speaking jurors has not led to a growth in jury trials in Chinese in the Court of First Instance, so it appears unlikely introducing jury trials in the District Court would lead to an increased use of Chinese in that court, Mr Wong added.