繁體中文
周博芬（Chow Pok-fun, Josephine），香港裁判官，一九七四年在香港出生。她一九九六年及一九九八年在香港大學分別取得法學士學位及法學專業證書。她一九九八年在香港獲大律師資格，一九九九年至二○○七年期間私人執業，二○○七年獲委任為特委裁判官。
二○○九年九月二十四日，司法機構宣布委任周博芬為裁判官，任命於同月二十八日起生效，與她同期獲委任為裁判官的還有黃國輝及陳慧敏。
特委裁判官主要處理較輕微的案件，例如定額罰款及交通違例事項，判罰款的上限受到限制；獲委任為常任裁判官後，職務範圍則擴大至各類刑事案件的提堂、保釋、審訊及判刑，並可決定是否把嚴重案件轉介上級法院。裁判法院是香港的基層刑事法院，大部分刑事案件在此展開，裁判官須獨立主持聆訊，並按法律及證據作出裁決，其判刑權限亦由成文法所規限。
周博芬由私人執業大律師轉任特委裁判官，再晉升為常任裁判官，長期在基層刑事法院工作，累積處理各類刑事案件及日常法庭運作的經驗。香港的司法人員由行政長官根據司法人員推薦委員會的推薦而委任，任命以《基本法》為依據。
周博芬在正式出任常任裁判官前，先獲委任為特委裁判官，主要處理定額罰款及交通違例等較輕微的案件，其判罰款權限受成文法限制。轉任常任裁判官後，她須處理包括提堂、保釋、審訊及判刑在內的各類刑事程序，工作範圍與責任均明顯增加。她由私人執業大律師轉入司法機構，具備訴訟經驗，長期在裁判法院任職亦累積了處理大量刑事案件的實務基礎。
English
Chow Pok-fun, Josephine, is a Magistrate of Hong Kong, born in Hong Kong in 1974. She obtained her LL.B. and Postgraduate Certificate in Laws from the University of Hong Kong in 1996 and 1998 respectively. She was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1998, was in private practice from 1999 to 2007, and was appointed a Special Magistrate in 2007.
On 24 September 2009 the Judiciary announced her appointment as a Magistrate with effect from 28 September 2009, together with Wong Kwok-fai and Chan Wai-mun.
Special Magistrates deal with relatively minor matters such as fixed penalty and traffic offences, subject to a cap on the fines they may impose, while permanent magistrates handle a wider range of criminal cases, including mentions, bail, trials and sentencing, and may transfer serious cases to a higher court. The magistracy is the lower criminal court of Hong Kong, where most criminal proceedings begin; magistrates hear cases independently and decide them according to law and evidence, within sentencing powers set by statute.
Moving from practice at the Bar to the magistracy, Chow has served in the lower criminal court for many years and has wide experience of criminal cases and of the day-to-day running of a court. Judicial officers are appointed by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission under the Basic Law.Before her substantive appointment as a Permanent Magistrate, Chow was appointed a Special Magistrate, dealing mainly with lighter matters such as fixed-penalty and traffic offences, for which the power to impose fines is limited by statute. After becoming a Permanent Magistrate her remit expanded to the full range of criminal procedure, including committal, bail, trial and sentencing. Coming from private practice at the Bar, she brought litigation experience with her, and long service in the magistracy has given her a practical grounding in handling a large volume of criminal cases.
