A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals,drafting legal pleadings,researching the law and giving legal opinions.
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to the bar". "The bar" is now used as a collective noun for barristers,but literally referred to the wooden barrier in old courtrooms,which separated the often crowded public area at the rear from the space near the judges reserved for those having business with the court. Barristers would sit or stand immediately behind it,facing the judge,and could use it as a table for their briefs.
The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal is the final appellate court of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997,upon the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,replacing the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the highest judicial institution under Hong Kong law. As defined in Articles 19 and 85 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong,the Court of Final Appeal "exercises judicial power in the Region independently and free from any interference." The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance and the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Rules set out the detailed functions and procedures of the court.
Ronny Tong Ka-wah,SC KC is a Hong Kong Senior Counsel and politician. He is a current non-official member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong. He co-founded the Civic Party and was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong,representing the New Territories East constituency from 2004 until he quit the party and resigned from the legislature on 22 June 2015,following the historic vote on Hong Kong electoral reform a few days earlier,having switched his political alignment from pro-democracy to pro-Beijing Hong Kong political group Path of Democracy,of which he is currently the convener.
The Postgraduate Certificate in Laws is an intensive one-year,full-time professional legal qualification programme in Hong Kong. It allows graduates to proceed to legal training in order to qualify to practice as either a barrister or a solicitor in Hong Kong. The "LL." of the abbreviation for the certificate is from the genitive plural legum. The programme is similar to the Legal Practice Course or the Bar Professional Training Course in England and Wales,or the Certificate in Legal Practice (Malaysia) in Malaysia which focuses heavily on practical and procedural issues in legal practice,unlike a first degree in law.
A pupillage,in England and Wales,Northern Ireland,Kenya,Malaysia,Pakistan and Hong Kong,is the final,vocational stage of training for those wishing to become practising barristers. Pupillage is similar to an apprenticeship,during which bar graduates build on what they have learnt during the Bar Professional Training Course or equivalent by combining it with practical work experience in a set of barristers' chambers or pupillage training organisation.
The Department of Justice (DoJ),is the department responsible for the laws of Hong Kong headed by the Secretary for Justice. Before 1997,the names of the department and the position was the Legal Department (律政署) and Attorney General (律政司) respectively. The Department of Justice provides legal advice to other departments in the government system,“drafts government bills,makes prosecution decisions,and promotes the rule of law”.
The Common Professional Examination/Postgraduate Diploma in Law (CPE/PGDL) is a postgraduate law course in England and Wales taken by non-law graduates wishing to become either a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales. It is being replaced by the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) which was introduced on 1 September 2021.
The Law Society of Hong Kong is the professional association and law society for solicitors in Hong Kong,established in 1907. The Law Society of Hong Kong is responsible for the classification and qualification of lawyers in Hong Kong. According to Hong Kong law,all Hong Kong solicitors must be members of this association.
Tam Yiu-chung,GBM,JP is a pro-Beijing politician in Hong Kong. He is a former member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC),former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) and former chairman of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB).
Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung is a barrister who served as the third Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong from 2012 to 2018.
Priscilla Leung Mei-funSBS JP is a barrister and Hong Kong Legislative Councillor,representing the Election Committee since 2022. She previously represented the Kowloon West constituency from 2008 to 2021. She was a member of Kowloon City District Council.
Legal education in Hong Kong generally refers to the education of lawyers before entry into practice.
Geoffrey Ma Tao-li is a retired Hong Kong judge who served as the 2nd Chief Justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal—the court of last resort in Hong Kong. Between 2001 and 2010,he held various positions in the High Court of Hong Kong,including Chief Judge,Justice of Appeal,and Judge of the Court of First Instance. Before his judicial career,he was a barrister-at-law in private practice at Temple Chambers,and was qualified to practice in England and Wales,Hong Kong,Australia and Singapore.
Eunice Yung Hoi-yan is a Hong Kong barrister and pro-Beijing politician. She is a former member of the New People's Party (NPP) and the Civil Force (CF). She became member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for New Territories East in 2016 and for Election Committee in 2021. She stepped down in December 2023 after her home was searched by the Hong Kong National Security Police.
The Honourable Mr Justice Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor (潘兆初) is the Chief Judge of the High Court of Hong Kong and President of the Court of Appeal of Hong Kong.
The offices of Apple Daily,once the largest pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong,and its parent company,Next Digital,were raided and executives arrested by the Hong Kong Police Force on 10 August 2020 and again on 17 June 2021. Some of the arrested and three companies of Next Digital were charged under the Hong Kong national security law. The 26-year-old newspaper was forced to close in June 2021 following the raids and freezing of its capital.
In Hong Kong,designated national security law judges are incumbent magistrates or judges who are further appointed by the Chief Executive to handle national security offence cases at various levels of the court system. Judges without the designation by the Chief Executive are not allowed to handle these cases.
Paul Lam Ting-kwok is a Hong Kong Senior Counsel who is the current Secretary for Justice.
Adrian Pedro Ho King-hong is a Hong Kong politician and businessman. In 2022,he was elected to the Legislative Council as an election committee constituency member.
