HONG KONG SAR, CHINA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Stephen Peaker, Yvonne Kong, Lauren Ng and Gabriel Yuen, Oldham, Li & Nie
Oldham, Li & Nie Suite 503 5/F St George’s Building 2 Ice House Street Central Hong Kong Tel: +852 2868 0696 Fax: +852 2810 6796 Email: info@oln-law.com Web: www.oln-law.com
Recent Family Law Developments In Hong Kong Family law in Hong Kong is ever-evolving to meet the needs of this dynamic and multifac - eted city, which – on average – handles more than 10,000 new cases every year. The Hong Kong Family Court introduced new measures, including a new Family Masters system, in late 2023. Heading into 2025, it is worth reviewing these changes in 2024 and how they impacted the way in which family law cases are handled moving forwards. New Family Masters system The Family Procedure Ordinance (Cap 646) (“the Ordinance”) was gazetted on 30 June 2023 to legislate for a consolidated and unified set of comprehensive court procedural rules for the family justice system in Hong Kong. The objec - tive of the Ordinance was to alleviate the ongo - ing problems that the family court had been fac - ing for many years, including the hodgepodge of court rules and procedures for family law mat - ters, which were at times difficult to comprehend and not user-friendly, especially for litigants in person. In light of the increasing number of liti - gants choosing to act in person in family law cases, there was an imminent need to impose
clearer guidance in procedural matters in the family court. Upon the enactment of the Ordinance, certain sections came into operation first, with the main development being the implementation of a new Family Masters system in October 2023 pursu - ant to section 15 of the Ordinance. To facilitate the implementation of this new system, two new General Directions were issued under section 15 of the Ordinance – namely, General Directions 1.1 and 1.2, which came into effect on 3 October 2023. The new system has injected seven additional Masters into the Hong Kong family court system, which has been under strain for many years. Prior to the implementation of the new Mas - ter system, there was only one principal fam - ily court judge, seven district judges and four deputy district judges. The family court now has one principal family court judge, five family court judges, two family court deputy district judges, and seven Masters. Under the Family Masters system, there is now a division of work between family judges and Masters, with the registrar and Masters empow -
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