To be eligible for appointment as a juror in Hong Kong, a person must be a resident of Hong Kong, between 21 and 65 years of age, not suffering from a disability which prevents him serving as a juror, of good character, and have "a sufficient knowledge of the language in which the proceedings are to be conducted to be able to understand the proceedings." The legislation does not prescribe how that linguistic competence is to be measured, and does not define what constitutes "good character" or "residence" for jury purposes.
The Commission has been asked to review the existing criteria for service as a juror, and to consider whether those criteria should be set out with greater clarity and precision. A sub-committee was appointed to consider this subject and held its first meeting in October 2003.
The members of the Juries Sub-committee are:
Hon Mr Justice Woo, GBS, VP, Justice of Appeal (Chairman) |
Ms Alice Chung, Assistant Director of Legal Aid (Application & Processing), Legal Aid Department |
Mr Lawrence Lok, SC, Barrister |
Mr Arthur Luk, SC, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Department of Justice |
Mr Jonathan Midgely, Solicitor |
Hon Mr Justice Pang, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court |
Hon Mr Justice Stock, Justice of Appeal |
Hon Mr Justice Tong, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court |
Mr Andrew Tse, former Principal, the John F Kennedy Centre [for the Deaf] |
Mr Jason Yeung, Company Secretary, Bank of China (HK) Limited |
The Sub-committee's Secretary is Mr Peter Sit, Senior Government Counsel.