Registrar (Hong Kong)
Registrars are judicial officers appointed by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong to assist in the work of Hong Kong's various courts, including the Court of Final Appeal, the High Court, and the District Court. Registrars may also hold a concurrent judicial role, such as being a judge, in a lower court.[1]
The title of Registrar-General was also previously in use in the executive branch until 1993, as the name of the government official in charge of the registries for lands, companies, marriages, bankruptcies, and more. Before the creation of the post in 1949, some of these duties were carried out by the registrar of the Supreme Court. The head of each registry is today known as a registrar.
Registrar of the Court of Final Appeal
| Registrar of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong | |
|---|---|
| Appointer | Chief Executive of Hong Kong |
| Term length | Life tenure (until statutory retirement at age 70, but may be extended by 5 years until age 75) |
| Inaugural holder | Edward Timothy Starbuck Woolley, 1997 |
| Formation | 1 July 1997 |
Duties
The Registrar will consider each leave application (applying to appear in front of the Court of Final Appeal) has any reasonable grounds for arguing an appeal. If an appeal is considered arguable, it will appear before an Appeal Committee, who will then make a final decision. If the Registrar determines there is no grounds for an appeal, a "Rule 7 Summons" will be issued, in which the applicant is invited to show on paper why the Appeals Committee should hear their appeal.
The Registrar also helps with listing cases and liaising with the non-permanent judges from both Hong Kong and other common law jurisdictions on sitting in appeal cases.
| Registrar | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 香港終審法院司法常務官 | ||
| |||
List of Registrars of the Court of Final Appeal
| No. | Name | Term of office | Concurrent judicial role | Reason for tenure end | Appointed by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mr. Edward Timothy Starbuck Woolley | 1997 | 1999 | None / full-time registrar | Retired | Tung Chee-hwa |
| — | Mr. Christopher Chan Cheuk, BBS (acting) | 1999 | 2000 | District Judge | Appointed Registrar of the High Court | Tung Chee-hwa |
| — | Ms. Betty Kwan Ka-ching, BBS (acting) | 2000 | 2002 | Deputy Registrar of the High Court | Retired | Tung Chee-hwa |
| — | The Hon Madam Justice Queeny Au-yeung Kwai-yue (acting) | 2002 | 2007 | Registrar of the District Court (2002–03)
District Judge (2003–07) |
Appointed Registrar of the High Court | Tung Chee-hwa |
| — | Mr. Simon Kwang Cheok-weung (acting) | 2007 | 2014 | District Judge
Temporary Deputy Registrar of the High Court |
Appointed full-time Registrar of the Court of Final Appeal | Donald Tsang |
| 2 | Mr. Simon Kwang Cheok-weung | 2014 | 2018 | Senior Deputy Registrar of the High Court | Appointed Registrar of the High Court | Leung Chun-ying |
| — | His Honour Judge Wong King-wah (acting) | 2018 | 2023 | District Judge | Appointed full-time Registrar of the Court of Final Appeal | Carrie Lam |
| 3 | His Honour Judge Wong King-wah | 2023 | Senior Deputy Registrar of the High Court | John Lee Ka-chiu | ||
Registrar of the High Court
| Registrar of the High Court | |
|---|---|
| Appointer | Chief Executive of Hong Kong |
| Term length | Life tenure (until statutory retirement at age 70, but may be extended by 5 years until age 75) |
The registrar of the High Court is the head of the High Court Registry and is supported by three senior deputy registrars and five deputy registrars. Known as the registrar of the Supreme Court before 1 July 1997, the registrar was head of the judiciary's administration until the creation of the position of Judiciary Administrator in 1994.
History
In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the Registrar of the Supreme Court also carried out the duties of the Lands Officer and Companies Registrar, among others.
The registrar of the Supreme Court was known as the 經歷司 in Chinese until the 1980s.
List of Registrars of the Supreme Court and High Court
| No.[2] | Name | Term start | Term end | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Dundas Cay | 8 May 1844[3] | 29 April 1856 | |
| 2 | Williams Hastings Alexander | 29 April 1856 | ||
| 3 | Charles Bushe Plunket | 12 May 1876 | ||
| 4 | Henry Frederick Gibbons | 14 April 1880 | ||
| 5 | Edward James Ackroyd | 27 February 1882 | ||
| 6 | Alfred Gascoyne Wise | 24 March 1893 | ||
| 7 | James William Norton-Kyshe | 28 September 1895 | ||
| 8 | Arathoon Seth | 19 May 1904 | ||
| 9 | Joseph Horsford Kemp | 30 October 1909 | ||
| 10 | Hugh Adair Nisbet | 15 August 1911 | ||
| 11 | Charles Alexander Dick Melbourne | 20 October 1928 | ||
| 12 | Thomas Maynard Hazelrigg | 1 October 1929 | ||
| 13 | Ernest Philip Henry Lang | 12 October 1935 | ||
| 14 | Lancelot Ruggles Andrewes | 21 April 1940 | ||
| 15 | Henrique Alberto de Barros Botelho | 1 May 1946 | ||
| 16 | Christopher Paul d'Almada e Castro | 1 January 1949 | ||
| Carlye Chu Fun-ling | 7 June 1999[4] | 3 October 2000[5] | Became VP of the Court of Appeal | |
| Christopher Chan Cheuk | 3 October 2000[6] | 21 July 2007 | Solicitor | |
| Queeny Au-yeung Kwai-yue | 1 August 2007[7] | 15 August 2012[8] | ||
| - | Lung Kim-wan (acting)[9] | 2012 | 2014 | |
| Lung Kim-wan | 11 March 2014[10] | 10 September 2018 | Solicitor | |
| Simon Kwang Cheok-weung[11] | 10 September 2018 | Incumbent | Solicitor; previously district judge |
References
- ^ "The Registrar". Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. Archived from the original on 2018-05-26.
- ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). www.cr.gov.hk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-30. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
- ^ Norton-Kyshe, James William (1898). The history of the laws and courts of Hongkong. T. Fisher Unwin, London.
- ^ "Judicial Appointments". www.info.gov.hk. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
- ^ "Judicial Appointment". www.info.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 2019-10-27. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
- ^ "Judicial Appointment". www.info.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 2024-12-15. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
- ^ "Judicial appointment". www.info.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 2024-12-15. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
- ^ "List of Judges and Judicial Officers". www.judiciary.hk. Archived from the original on 2025-07-02. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
- ^ "G.N. 8230 of 2013". www.gld.gov.hk. December 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
- ^ "Judicial appointments". www.info.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 2025-05-12. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
- ^ "Judicial appointment". www.info.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 2025-04-21. Retrieved 2025-08-30.