### Magistrates Ordinance 《裁判官條例》

8. Issue of summons to defendant and mode of service thereof
(1) In every case where a complaint is made to or an information laid before a magistrate or an officer of a magistrate’s court who is authorized in writing for that purpose by a magistrate, being a complaint or information in respect of which a magistrate has power to convict summarily or to make an order for the payment of money or otherwise, it shall be lawful, subject to this Part, for a summons to be issued by a magistrate or an officer of a magistrate’s court who is authorized under this subsection. (See Form 1)

8A. Notice to appear before a magistrate in respect of certain offences
(1) Notwithstanding section 8, if a public officer specified in the first column of the Fourth Schedule reasonably suspects that a person has committed any offence specified opposite thereto in the second column of that Schedule, the public officer may serve on that person personally a notice requiring him to appear at a time, being not earlier than 3 clear days after the notice has been served on him and place specified in the notice before a magistrate to be dealt with according to law. (See Forms 1A, 1B)

9. Issue of warrant in first instance or subsequently
(1) Where a complaint or information laid before a magistrate is substantiated by oath before him, the magistrate may, in the first instance or notwithstanding that a summons has been previously issued, issue a warrant to arrest the defendant and bring him before a magistrate to answer to the complaint or information. (See Form 4)

### Magistrates Ordinance 《裁判官條例》

10. Manner of making complaint or laying information
(1) Every complaint and every information under this Part, unless some enactment otherwise requires, may respectively be made or laid without any oath being made of the truth thereof; except in case of an information where the magistrate receiving the same thereupon issues his warrant in the first instance to apprehend the defendant as aforesaid; and in every such case where the magistrate issues his warrant in the first instance the matter of the information shall be substantiated by the oath of the informant, or of some witness on his behalf, before any such warrant shall be issued. (Amended 25 of 1998 s. 2)
(2) For every distinct offence of which any person is accused there shall be a separate complaint or information, and every such complaint or information shall be tried separately except in the following cases—
(a)  when a person is accused of more offences than one of the same or a similar character he may, subject to the provisions of section 26, be charged with and tried at the same time for any such offence, whether it is committed with respect to the same person or not: (Amended 49 of 1965 s. 4)
Provided that if the magistrate is of opinion that a person accused will be prejudiced or embarrassed in his defence, he may order a separate trial of any such charge or charges; 
(b) if in one series of acts so connected together as to form the same transaction, more offences than one are committed by the same person, he may be charged with and tried at the same time for every such offence; and
(c) if a single act or series of acts is of such a nature that it is doubtful which of several offences the facts which can be proved will constitute, the accused person may be charged with having committed all or any of such offences and any number of such charges may be tried at once; or he may be charged in the alternative with having committed some one of the said offences. (Replaced 24 of 1949 s. 6)
(3) Every such complaint or information may be made or laid by the complainant or informant in person or by his counsel or other person authorized in that behalf.
(4) Every such complaint or information shall comply with the Indictment Rules (Cap. 221 sub. leg. C) in so far as those rules are applicable mutatis mutandis to any such complaint or information. (Replaced 36 of 1976 s. 4. Amended E.R. 2 of 2018)

### Magistrates Ordinance 《裁判官條例》

11. Place and manner of hearing
The room or place in which a magistrate sits to hear and try any complaint or information shall be deemed an open and public court, to which the public generally may have access, so far as the same can conveniently contain them, unless the magistrate otherwise directs where the evidence is of an indecent character, or where a prosecution is for an offence against the Societies Ordinance (Cap. 151) and is an offence relating to or otherwise connected with a Triad Society, in which case he shall make a note on the depositions of the direction which he has given:
Provided that in any case the delivery by the magistrate of his determination and any proceedings subsequent thereto, other than a review under section 104 which requires the hearing of evidence, shall take place in open and public court.(Amended 24 of 1949 s. 7; 16 of 1960 s. 2)[cf. 1848 c. 43 s. 12 U.K.]

12. Prosecution of offences to be under control of Secretary for Justice
The Secretary for Justice is hereby entrusted with the duty and discretion of conducting the prosecution of all offences cognizable by a magistrate:
Provided—
(a) that it shall be lawful for any member of the police force and such other public servant as the Secretary for Justice may from time to time by any general or special direction authorize to lay before a magistrate or an officer of a magistrate’s court who is authorized under section 8(1) an information in respect of an offence and any such information shall be deemed to have been laid on behalf of the Secretary for Justice; (Amended 12 of 1992 s. 3)
(b) that in any such case the Secretary for Justice shall be deemed to be a party to the proceedings and such member or public servant shall not be so deemed.
(Added 24 of 1949 s. 8. Amended L.N. 362 of 1997)

13. Appointment of official prosecutors by Secretary for Justice
(Amended 25 of 2008 s. 3)The Secretary for Justice may appoint any public officer or class of public officers to act as official prosecutor or prosecutors and to conduct generally on his behalf any prosecution before a magistrate or any specified classes of prosecutions or any particular case. Any official prosecutor so appointed may without any written authority appear and plead before a magistrate any case of which he has charge which is being inquired into, tried or reviewed.
(Added 24 of 1949 s. 8. Amended L.N. 362 of 1997; 25 of 2008 s. 3)

### Magistrates Ordinance 《裁判官條例》

14. Private prosecution and intervention by the Secretary for Justice
(1) A complainant or informant who is not acting or deemed to act on behalf of the Secretary for Justice may if he so wishes and without any prior leave conduct in person or by counsel on his behalf the prosecution of the offence to which the complaint or information relates but the Secretary for Justice may at any stage of the proceedings before the magistrate intervene and assume the conduct of the proceedings and may within the time limited by section 104 for applying for a review intervene for the purpose of applying for or being made a party to any review.
(2) As from the date of any such intervention the Secretary for Justice shall be deemed to be a party to the proceedings or the review in lieu of such complainant or informant.
(3) Such intervention may be effected by oral intimation given to the magistrate by a legal officer in the Department of Justice acting under the instructions of the Secretary for Justice or by notice in writing under the hand of the Secretary for Justice of his intervention lodged with the magistrates’ clerk. In the event of oral intimation as aforesaid having been given the Secretary for Justice shall as soon as conveniently may be cause notice in writing of his intention to be lodged as aforesaid. (Amended 25 of 2008 s. 4)
(Added 24 of 1949 s. 8. Amended L.N. 362 of 1997)