### High Court Ordinance 《高等法院條例》

32. Proceedings in Court of First Instance to be disposed of by single judge
(1) Subject to sections 41 and 42 of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Cap. 221), to subsection (3) of this section and to rules of court, every proceeding in the Court of First Instance and all business arising therefrom shall be heard and determined by a judge of the Court of First Instance sitting alone.
(2) The proceedings in every action or matter subsequent to the trial or hearing, down to and including the final judgment or order, and any application for leave to appeal or for a stay of execution shall, so far as is practicable and convenient, be taken before the judge of the Court of First Instance before whom the trial or hearing took place.
(3) The Chief Justice may direct that any proceeding, or class of proceeding, in the Court of First Instance shall be heard and determined by 2 or more judges of the Court.
(Amended 25 of 1998 s. 2)

32A. Proceedings in court and in chambers
Business in the Court of First Instance shall be heard and disposed of in court except insofar as it may, under this or any other enactment or in accordance with the practice of the Court, be dealt with in chambers.
(Added 52 of 1987 s. 24. Amended 25 of 1998 s. 2)[cf. 1981 c. 54 s. 67 U.K.]

33. Powers of judge in chambers
(1) A judge of the Court of First Instance may, subject to rules of court, exercise in chambers all or any part of the jurisdiction vested in the Court of First Instance, in all such causes and matters and in all such proceedings in any causes or matters as may be heard in chambers by a judge of the High Court in England or as may be directed or authorized to be so heard by rules of court.
(2) A judge of the Court of First Instance sitting in court shall be deemed to constitute a court of the Court of First Instance.
(Amended 25 of 1998 s. 2)[cf. 1925 c. 49 s. 61 U.K.]

### High Court Ordinance 《高等法院條例》

33A. Trial by jury in the Court of First Instance
(1) Where, on the application of any party to an action the Court of First Instance is satisfied that there is in issue—
(a) a claim in respect of libel, slander, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment or seduction; or
(b) any question or issue of a kind prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph by rules of court,
the action shall be tried with a jury, unless the Court is of the opinion that the trial requires any prolonged examination of documents or accounts or any scientific or local investigation which cannot conveniently be made with a jury.
(2) An application under subsection (1) must be made not later than such time before the trial as may be prescribed by rules of court.
(3) An action to be tried in the Court of First Instance which does not by virtue of subsection (1) fall to be tried with a jury shall be tried without a jury unless the Court in its discretion orders it to be tried with a jury.
(4) Nothing in subsections (1) to (3) shall affect the power of the Court to order, in accordance with rules of court, that different questions of fact arising in any action be tried by different modes of trial; and where any such order is made, subsection (1) shall have effect only as respects questions relating to any such claim, question or issue as is mentioned in that subsection.
(5) Where for the purpose of disposing of any action or other matter which is being tried in the Court of First Instance by a judge with a jury it is necessary to ascertain the law of any other place which is applicable to the facts of the case, any question as to the effect of the evidence given with respect to that law shall, instead of being submitted to the jury, be decided by the judge alone.
(Added 52 of 1987 s. 25. Amended 25 of 1998 s. 2)[cf. 1981 c. 54 s. 69 U.K.]

### High Court Ordinance 《高等法院條例》

34A. Powers of single Justice of Appeal in Court of Appeal in its criminal jurisdiction
(1) Subject to subsection (2), in pursuance of the criminal jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal, any power of the Court of Appeal not involving the determination of the appeal may be exercised by a single Justice of Appeal in the same manner as it may be exercised by the Court of Appeal and subject to the same provisions.
(2) Where a single Justice of Appeal refuses an application to exercise any power of the Court of Appeal in pursuance of subsection (1), the applicant shall be entitled to have the application determined by the Court of Appeal.
(Added 52 of 1987 s. 27)

34B. Composition of Court of Appeal in its civil jurisdiction
(1) This section relates to the Court of Appeal in the exercise of its civil jurisdiction; and in this section Court (法庭) means the Court of Appeal exercising such jurisdiction.
(2) The Court shall be duly constituted for the purpose of exercising any of its jurisdiction if it consists of an uneven number of Justices of Appeal not less than 3.
(3) Where—
(a) part of any proceedings before the Court has been heard by an uneven number of Justices of Appeal greater than 3; and
(b) one or more members of the Court is or are unable to continue,
the Court shall remain duly constituted for the purpose of those proceedings so long as the number of members (whether even or uneven) is not reduced to less than 3.
(4) The Court shall, if it consists of 2 Justices of Appeal, be duly constituted for the purpose of—
(a) hearing or determining any appeal against an interlocutory order or interlocutory judgment;
(aa) hearing or determining any application for leave to appeal (except an application for leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal against a decision made by the Court consisting of 3 or more Justices of Appeal); (Added 3 of 2008 s. 26. Amended 21 of 2020 s. 6)
(ab) hearing or determining any interlocutory application in relation to a cause or matter pending before it; (Added 3 of 2008 s. 30)
(ac) hearing or determining any appeal made under Order 53, rule 3(4) of the Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4 sub. leg. A) (O.53 r.3(4) appeal