梁文亮

English

Matthew Leung is a magistrate of the Magistrates' Courts of Hong Kong, born in Hong Kong in 1971. He obtained an LL.B. and a Postgraduate Certificate in Laws from the University of Hong Kong in 1993 and 1994 respectively, and an LL.M. from the same university in 2000. He qualified as a solicitor in Hong Kong in 1996 and practised privately from 1996 to 2001. In 2001 he joined the Department of Justice as a Government Counsel and was promoted to Senior Government Counsel in 2007, working for many years on legal matters relating to the Government, including legislative drafting, legal advice and litigation support. On 21 November 2017, Leung was appointed a Permanent Magistrate, by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission. Moving from the Department of Justice to the bench is a common source of judicial appointments in Hong Kong; former Government Counsel are familiar with how legislation operates and with the legal needs of government departments, and have a close understanding of the practical application of the law. The Magistrates' Courts are Hong Kong's court of first instance for criminal matters, dealing with the great majority of criminal cases, from summary offences to indictable cases that first come before a magistrate; magistrates also handle bail applications, the issue of warrants and certain small claims, and face a heavy daily caseload at a demanding pace. Judges of the courts of the HKSAR are appointed by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission; Article 88 of the Basic Law requires appointment on the recommendation of an independent commission, and Article 92 provides that judges shall be chosen on the basis of their judicial and professional qualities. Coming from private practice as a solicitor, then the Department of Justice, and now the bench, Leung combines experience in practice, government legal work and adjudication. He was still a serving magistrate as at 2026.