李紹豪

English

Lee Siu-ho is a District Judge of Hong Kong, born in Hong Kong in 1968. He obtained his LL.B. and Postgraduate Certificate in Laws from the University of Hong Kong in 1991 and 1992, and an LL.M. from the University of London in 1996. In 2006 he obtained a second bachelor's degree in Chinese law through Tsinghua University and the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the University of Hong Kong, and in 2012 a Master of Arts from the Chinese University of Hong Kong; in 2011 he became a mediator accredited by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution. He was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1992 and was in private practice from 1993 until his appointment as a Permanent Magistrate in 2014. On 2 December 2024 the Judiciary announced his appointment as a District Judge with effect from 3 December 2024, made by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission. In the magistracy, permanent magistrates handle a heavy volume of mentions, bail applications, trials and sentencing, and decide whether cases should be transferred to a higher court; the District Court hears civil claims of moderate value and the more serious criminal cases, with a sentencing power generally capped at seven years' imprisonment, heard by a judge sitting alone. Work in the magistracy, where efficiency and accuracy must be balanced against a large caseload, is useful preparation for the more complex cases of the District Court. After ten years as a permanent magistrate, Lee was elevated to the District Court, bringing additional study of Chinese law and a mediation qualification to his judicial work.He spent about a decade in the magistracy, where he had to balance efficiency with legal accuracy against a heavy caseload, and frequently dealt with bail applications and sentencing; such work is central to a judge's command of evidence and criminal procedure. Before joining the Judiciary Lee had practised as a barrister in private practice, and he has pursued further studies in Chinese law and the humanities, giving him a relatively broad base of knowledge.