The District Courts are the lower court system in Hong Kong, have both criminal and civil jurisdictions. The system is modelled after the English legal system, with indictable offences being taken up by the district court if at the hearing in the magistrate's court a criminal defendant elects for a jury trial. District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that punishes criminals for committing offences against the state. ... Civil law has at least three meanings. ... English law, the law of England and Wales (but not Scotland and Northern Ireland), also known generally as the common law (as opposed to civil law), was exported to Commonwealth countries while the British Empire was established and maintained, and persisted after the British withdrew or were expelled, to form... Magistrates Courts in Hong Kong deal with criminal jurisdiction over a wide range of indictable and summary offences meriting up to 2 years of imprisonment and a fine of HK$100,000. ...
The District Courts hear all serious cases except murder, manslaughter and rape, and can impose a sentence of up to seven years. Cases are heard in either the Chinese or English languages, at the sole discretion of the trial judge. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
For good reasons, the DistrictCourt may continue to handle the claim when the counterclaim exceeds $1 million, but a report has to be made to the High Court and the High Court may transfer the case.
If the Court is satisfied that the case is ready for trial, it may grant leave for the action to be set down or fix a date for trial.
If a DistrictCourt case in which you are involved is affected by a tropical cyclone or rainstorm warning, you should listen to announcements on the radio and television about resumption of hearings and opening of the Registry / Accounts Office.
A custody decree issued in HongKong (a) confers the sole "custody, care and control" of Christina Croll on her mother, (b) confers "rights of access" on her father, and (c) bars the removal of the child from HongKong without the consent of the other parent or the court.
The court reasoned that the HongKong order dated February 23, 1999 [24] provides that Christina may not be removed from HongKong before her 18th birthday without either leave of court or both parents' consent.
C, the court found that because the restriction required the parent with physical custody to remain in the court's jurisdiction, and thus impliedly gave the court and the parent without physical custody the right to veto an international move, it vested both with the power to determine the child's residence.