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Hong Kong proposes judge training pathway to ease court delays
A think tank linked to Ronny Tong Ka-wah cited a 24.2 percent 2025 vacancy rate for judges and judicial officers, alongside 337-day District Court waits and 368-day criminal case timelines.
Hong Kong should create a full-time training pathway to bring top law graduates into the judiciary, a think tank proposal said, aiming to expand the local pool of judicial talent and reduce long courtroom backlogs. SCMP Economy reports that the recommendation was made by POD Research Institute founder Ronny Tong Ka-wah, who is also an Executive Council member.
The think tank said the need is underscored by staffing gaps, pointing to a 24.2 percent vacancy rate among judges and judicial officers in 2025. It also highlighted time delays in the court process, including an average 337 days between a case’s first mention and the start of a District Court trial.
SCMP Economy further noted that for criminal matters, the average duration between indictment filing and the start of a hearing at the Court of First Instance was 368 days in 2025. Tong warned that prolonged waits could weaken human rights protections and the rule of law, especially in serious cases where defendants had been denied bail.