勞杰民

English

Lo Kit-man is a judge of the District Court of Hong Kong, born in Hong Kong in 1967. He obtained an LL.B. and a Postgraduate Certificate in Laws from the University of Hong Kong in 1990 and 1991 respectively, and qualified as a solicitor in Hong Kong in 1993 and in England and Wales in 1996. He practised privately from 1993 to 2006, and in 2006 joined the Judiciary as a Permanent Magistrate, building up criminal trial experience in the magistracy. On 11 March 2014, Lo was appointed a District Judge, the same day as Hui Sze-wai, while Li Hing-nin was appointed Chief Magistrate; the appointments were made by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission. The District Court, one of Hong Kong's original courts, deals with civil claims of moderate value and the more serious criminal cases, with a sentencing limit generally of seven years' imprisonment, whereas the magistracy is the court of first instance for the great majority of criminal cases; the two levels differ in the nature of their work and caseload. District Judges are appointed by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, under the Basic Law. Moving from solicitor to magistrate and then to District Judge, Lo followed a career path typical of the Judiciary, first building trial experience in the magistracy before taking on more complex work at the District Court. This bottom-up progress reflects the Judiciary's emphasis on practical experience and allows judges to develop across different levels of court, which is of real benefit when they later hear more complex civil and criminal cases. Starting as a solicitor, developing through the magistracy and then moving on to the District Court, his progression reflects how the Judiciary trains and selects judges from within, and the District Court's more complex and higher-value cases place greater demands on legal analysis and case management.