To align with the special work arrangements announced by the Government to reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19 in the community, the Department of Justice announced today (March 28) that the department will continue to pr… read more
The Inland Revenue Department announced today (March 28) that, in addition to the public services set out in the press release issued on March 22, limited general telephone enquiry service will be provided from March 30 th… read more
The Labour Department (LD) today (March 28) reminded foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) that group gatherings in public places will be prohibited starting from March 29.
The spokesman of the department said, “The Government announced today (www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202003/28/P2020032800069.htm) that a notice will be issued in the Gazette in accordance with the Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gathering) Regulation (Cap. 599G) to prohibit group gatherings with more than four people in public places. The notice will take effect at 0.00am on March 29 for 14 days. LD reminds employers and FDHs to observe and comply with the relevant Regulation and notice, and appeals to them to avoid social activities on their rest days and stay at home for rest as far as possible. Employers and FDHs may consider discussing rest day arrangements between themselves, including substituting another rest day, so as to avoid the health risk of participating in social activities.”
The spokesman continued, “LD appeals to employers to explain the current special circumstances when discussing rest day arrangements with their FDHs and calls for their mutual understanding in joining hands to fight the virus. LD also reminds employers that under the Employment Ordinance, if an employer requests an FDH to work on a rest day, the employer must substitute another rest day for the FDH within 30 days after the original rest day; the employer must also notify the FDH of the arrangement within 48 hours after he/she is required to work. An employer who compels his/her FDH to work on a rest day without the agreement of the FDH or fails to grant rest days to the FDH is in breach of the Employment Ordinance and is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a maximum fine of $50,000.”
For health advice on the prevention of pneumonia and respiratory tract infection, please visit the website of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health (www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/). Information in Chinese, English, Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, Hindi, Sinhala, Bengali, Nepali and Urdu are available.
Should FDHs and their employers have enquiries on employment matters, they may seek LD’s assistance through the dedicated email account for FDH matters (fdh-enquiry@labour.gov.hk) and the online form on the dedicated portal (www.fdh.labour.gov.hk). read more
Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, at a media session after attending a radio programme this morning (March 28): R… read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
The Judiciary today (March 28) announced that in view of the latest public health considerations, the General Adjourned Period (will continue from March 30 (Monday) to April 13 (Monday), and be subject to review having regard to the prevailing public health situation. It is important to underline the fact that the public’s health and safety, including that of court users and court staff, remain paramount considerations in the handling of court operations by the Judiciary.
While during GAP, courts will continue to handle certain urgent and essential business, the Judiciary will put in place public health measures to ensure appropriate social distancing for court users attending to court business.
Social Distancing
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The Judiciary has to strike a careful balance between the due administration of justice (particularly given the uncertainty of the duration of GAP) and the latest public health situation. Individual court cases or businesses on their own may not add very much to public health risks. However, if many cases or business are conducted at the same time at same court premises, their combined impact on public health risks as a whole may increase. As such, the Judiciary has been adopting a “space-out” approach to ensure that people flow in court premises is smooth and that court premises, including office areas, are not overcrowded. This is reflected in the limited scope of business, including registry business (as revised from time to time), the manner in which cases are listed for hearing, the number of courts that are opened for hearing, the number of and manner in which magistrates’ courts (MCs) are opened for business, and the preventive and crowd control measures implemented.
In particular, the Judiciary will continue to use various means to space out court proceedings, with suitable adjustments as appropriate to suit the latest situation. Where appropriate, the number of cases to be handled in the same courtroom at any one session will be reduced. This will in turn reduce the number of people who will need to be in a courtroom at any point in time. Additional holding space or waiting area(s) in other courtroom(s) or at court lobbies will be provided whenever possible so that fewer people will need to gather in a courtroom. Broadcasting of proceedings will be done on a needs basis. For certain levels of court such as the MCs, more court buildings will operate on any given day so that the cases may be spread out for handling in more courtrooms.
There will also be capacity limits for each courtroom, court lobby, and registry areas to contain the people flow within reasonable limits and having regard to the need for social distancing. To help enforce such controls, queuing system will be implemented as appropriate. The Judiciary also urges court users, including legal practitioners, to minimise the number of people coming to the court.
Court Proceedings
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All court/tribunal hearings will generally be adjourned during this period unless they are urgent and essential business as directed by the presiding Judge or Judicial Officer. Parties will be notified only if their hearings will be held as scheduled during this period.
Other urgent and essential hearings will continue to be handled in accordance with the established mechanisms, including the Duty Judge system. The updated list of urgent and essential hearings and matters is uploaded onto the Judiciary website. Court users and the public are strongly urged to check the website regularly as the list may be subject to change at short notice due to rapidly changing public health situation.
Starting from March 30, three MCs will operate each day from Monday to Friday (except public holidays) and the holiday sittings will be adopted for public holidays. The detailed arrangements are as follows:
| March 30 (Monday) | Kwun Tong MCs, West Kowloon MCs and Fanling MCs will open |
| March 31 (Tuesday) | Eastern MCs, Kowloon City MCs and Tuen Mun MCs will open |
| April 1 (Wednesday) | Eastern MCs, West Kowloon MCs and Shatin MCs will open |
| April 2 (Thursday) | Kwun Tong MCs, Kowloon City MCs and Fanling MCs will open |
| April 3 (Friday) | Eastern MCs, West Kowloon MCs and Tuen Mun MCs will open |
| April 4 (Saturday) | Holiday sitting will be adopted and Shatin MCs will open |
| April 5 (Sunday) | No MCs will open |
| April 6 (Monday) | Eastern MCs, Kowloon City MCs and Shatin MCs will open |
| April 7 (Tuesday) | Kwun Tong MCs, West Kowloon MCs and Fanling MCs will open |
| April 8 (Wednesday) | Eastern MCs, Kowloon City MCs and Tuen Mun MCs will open |
| April 9 (Thursday) | Eastern MCs, West Kowloon MCs and Shatin MCs will open |
| April 10 (Friday) | No Magistrates’ Courts will open |
| April 11 (Saturday) | Holiday sitting will be adopted and Eastern MCs will open |
| April 12 (Sunday) | No Magistrates’ Courts will open |
| April 13 (Monday) | Holiday sitting will be adopted and Eastern MCs will open |