Magistrate's Rulings Published Amid Criticism Row

In an unusual move, the judiciary has published a number of judgements by a former magistrate who had in recent months been accused of bias by some pro-establishment figures.

This came after former Eastern Court magistrate Stanley Ho took up new administrative duties at the High Court in September amid the criticism.

Seven judgements by Ho – made between June and August this year – have been released online on the judiciary's Legal Reference System from Tuesday.

RTHK understands that it’s rare for the judiciary to publish decisions at the magistrate level, unless they relate to high profile cases.

Ho was appointed a temporary Deputy Registrar of the High Court on July 31, amid criticism from the pro-Beijing figures and newspapers that his decisions were in favour of protesters and the pro-democracy camp.

Ho's decision to acquit some protesters and scathing comments about police evidence were highlighted by some pro-Beijing figures and media.

The judiciary had said that Ho’s posting – which began on September 18 – had nothing to do with complaints against him and was made for “normal operational purposes”.

A legal source earlier told RTHK that it's common practice for the judiciary to tap the potential candidate on the shoulder some time before their appointment to a new role, and the promotion of Stanley Ho might have been in the pipeline a year before his actual appointment was announced.

The rulings of Ho now made public involve a handful of cases relating to anti-government protests last year. Reasons for fining three former Demosisto members for staging a protest in Legco over the National Anthem Bill last year were also published.

The judiciary’s Legal Reference System shows that between 2019 and 2020, only seven judgements by the Eastern Court have been published — and all of them were cases ruled by Ho and published now.

RTHK has reached out to the judiciary for comment.

Legal sector lawmaker Dennis Kwok said the chief justice had always emphasised that criticisms of a court or a judgement should be made after clearly studying the rulings to know how the decisions were arrived at.

"The practice of publishing judgements is part of open justice that we have and I think this move by the judiciary is aimed at those who wishes to criticise certain judgements. But before doing so, they should actually read the judgements itself before offering their opinion," he said.

Responding to media enquires last month, the judiciary had said that Ho’s new duties will include assisting the Criminal Listing Judge in the listing and procedural matters of criminal cases in High Court.