香港司法机构警告称，由于欺诈和洗钱诉讼激增，香港法院审理刑事案件的长时间等待可能会持续，与此同时，律师会建议将开庭时间延长至晚上。
The long wait for criminal cases to be heard in Hong Kong’s courts could persist because of a surge in fraud and money laundering litigation, the judiciary has warned, as the Law Society suggested extending sitting hours into the evening.
司法机构在提交立法会司法及法律服务委员会的文件中表示，2025年案件总量达约53.7万宗，比过去五年年均水平高出约4%。
In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council’s panel on administration of justice and legal services, the judiciary said that the total caseload in 2025 reached about 537,000, around 4 per cent higher than the annual average over the previous five years.
截至今年7月，刑事案件在高等法院平均等待358天开审，在区域法院平均等待354天，为各级法院中等待时间最长。
As of July this year, criminal cases had waited an average of 358 days to be heard in the High Court, while those in the District Court waited 354 days on average – the longest among all courts.
尽管司法机构未为高等法院刑事案件设定等待时间指标，但区域法院的平均等待时间已超过其100天指标的3.5倍。
Although the judiciary does not set a target waiting time for criminal cases at the High Court, the average waiting time at the District Court was more than 3.5 times its 100-day target.
司法机构行政长官梁月仪周一在立法会会议上表示：“为确保公平审判，每宗刑事案件在列入审讯前，都必须经过一系列必要的步骤和程序。”
“To ensure a fair trial, each criminal case has to undergo a series of essential steps and procedures before it can be listed for trial,” judiciary administrator Esther Leung Yuet-yin told the legislature during a meeting on Monday.
她还说，高等法院还必须优先处理与2019年抗议活动及国家安全相关的刑事案件，这也加剧了等待时间变长的情况。
The High Court also had to prioritise handling criminal cases related to the 2019 protests and national security, which added to the longer waiting time, she said.
“随着这些案件大多已结案，余下大部分案件亦已排期审理，预计这些案件对高等法院原讼法庭其他诉讼平均等待时间的影响将逐渐减弱。”
“With most of these cases being disposed of and most of the remaining cases scheduled for hearing, the impact of these cases on the average waiting times for other proceedings in the Court of First Instance is expected to subside gradually.”The District Court’s criminal caseload rose 68 per cent in five years, from 1,119 in 2020 to 1,876 in 2025, largely because of a surge in money-laundering and fraud cases, according to Leung.
据梁月仪透露，区域法院刑事案件量在五年间上升68%，从2020年的1119宗增至2025年的1876宗，主要是因为洗钱和欺诈案件激增。
“With the large amount of money-laundering and fraud cases, the average waiting time for criminal cases could not drop quickly,” she said, adding that the waiting time for other types of cases was largely in line with the judiciary’s targets.
她说：“由于洗钱和欺诈案件数量庞大，刑事案件平均等待时间难以迅速下降。”她补充称，其他类型案件的等待时间则基本符合司法机构的指标。
At the same session, Justin Yuen Hoi-ying, chairman of the Law Society’s standing committee on standards and development, said that although the waiting time in civil cases met the judiciary’s targets, some lawyers had to wait for more than a year before a case could be scheduled, even for a commercial dispute requiring only a few days of hearing.
同一场会议上，律师会标准与发展常设委员会主席袁开英表示，虽然民事案件的等候时间符合司法机构的目标，但一些律师需要等待一年多才能安排审理案件，即使是只需几天审理时间的商业纠纷亦然。
“During this period, clients have to bear the legal costs and the commercial burdens incurred by frozen funds, while facing the risks of the witnesses’ memory erosion and key personnel leaving the company. For companies eager to settle disputes, it is justice delayed,” he said.
“在此期间，当事人不仅要承担法律费用和资金冻结带来的商业负担，还要面对证人记忆模糊和关键人员离职的风险。对于急于解决纠纷的公司来说，这就是司法延迟，”他说。
He urged the judiciary to release breakdowns of trial durations to offer a more accurate picture of waiting times, and to consider extending its operating hours into the evening or Sundays.
他敦促司法机构公布审理时长的细分数据，以更准确地反映等候时间，并考虑将运营时间延长至傍晚或周日。
As a pilot measure, Yuen proposed to trial “dawn courts” at Magistrates’ Courts and tribunals to handle simple and procedural matters, to free up daytime slots and facilitate attendance by litigants who needed to work during the day.
作为试点措施，袁开英建议在裁判法院和仲裁处试行“拂晓法庭”，处理简单和程序性事务，以腾出白天时段，方便白天需要工作的当事人出庭。
He also suggested that some interlocutory procedures, such as directions hearings and case management conferences, could be held after 5pm at the District Court and the High Court, with some of their steps conducted via remote hearings.
他还建议，部分中间程序，如指示聆讯和个案管理会议，可在区域法院和高等法院于下午5点后举行，部分步骤可通过远程聆讯进行。
“We suggest these procedures during extended slots be overseen by deputy judges to make the best use of the senior practitioners’ talent pool, while avoiding worsening judges’ burdens,” he said.
“我们建议这些延长时段的程序由副法官主持，以充分利用资深执业人员的人才库，同时避免加重法官的负担，”他说。但梁女士对此持谨慎态度，称傍晚时段可用资源有限。
But Leung cautioned against the idea, saying that resources available during evening hours would be limited.
“关键不在于傍晚运作，而在于我们是否有足够人手来充分利用白天，”她说。
“The key does not lie in operating in the evening, but whether we have sufficient manpower to make the best use of daytime,” she said.
根据立法会秘书处的数据，高等法院缺少20名法官，而区域法院比所需编制少17名法官。
According to the Legco secretariat, the High Court is short of 20 judges, while the District Court has 17 fewer judges than it needs.
梁女士表示，新的司法任命将于2026年底或明年初进行，同时司法机关将加强临时人力的使用。
Leung said a new round of judicial appointments would be made in late 2026 or early next year, while the judiciary would step up engagement of temporary manpower.
她补充说，司法机关还将采取多管齐下的方式提升效率，包括强制使用数字化法院案件管理系统、推广替代性争议解决方式以及改善法院设施。
The judiciary would also adopt a multipronged approach to enhance efficiency, including mandating the use of a digital court case management system, promoting the use of alternative dispute resolution and improving court facilities, she added.
司法机关正在筹备将高等法院大楼及其相邻的皇后大道政府办公楼改建为新的法院场所。
The judiciary was preparing for the redevelopment of the High Court building and the adjacent Queensway government offices into new court premises.
预计将于2028年在湾仔卡罗琳山道新建一座建筑，容纳区法院、家庭法院和土地法庭。
A new building on Caroline Hill Road in Causeway Bay is expected to be commissioned in 2028 to house the District Court, Family Court and Lands Tribunal.