李慶年

English

Li Hing-nin is a judge of the District Court of Hong Kong, born in Hong Kong in 1969. He obtained an LL.B. and a Postgraduate Certificate in Laws from the University of Hong Kong in 1992 and 1993 respectively and was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1993. He practised privately from 1994 to 2006. In 2006 he joined the Judiciary as a Permanent Magistrate, was appointed a Principal Magistrate in 2013 and Chief Magistrate in 2014. On 2 January 2018, Li was appointed a District Judge, by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission. Rising step by step from Permanent Magistrate to Principal Magistrate and then Chief Magistrate before joining the District Court, Li has a complete and well-established career. As Chief Magistrate he coordinated the work of the magistrates' courts and is thoroughly familiar with the operation of the lower courts. The District Court is one of Hong Kong's original courts, dealing with civil claims of moderate value and the more serious criminal cases, with a sentencing limit generally of seven years' imprisonment, while the magistracy is the court of first instance for the great majority of criminal cases. District Judges are appointed by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, under the Basic Law. Coming from the Bar and then spending many years in the magistracy, where he rose to Principal Magistrate and then Chief Magistrate, Li is one of the most experienced members of the magistracy system and now handles more complex cases at the District Court. Work in the magistracy is fast-paced, with magistrates handling a large volume of cases daily, and Li built up nearly twenty years of experience there. District Court cases are more complex and carry greater sentencing powers, so a judge familiar with the magistracy helps bridge the two levels, and his steady rise from the Bar through the Judiciary reflects the weight it places on a judge's actual performance in the lower courts.