郭棟明

English

Eric Kwok Tung-ming (born 1959) is a Hong Kong senior counsel and a Recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court. He obtained an LLB from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom in 1983, passed the Bar finals in 1984 and was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1985. From 1985 to 1988 he served in the then Legal Department (now the Department of Justice), and has practised in private practice since 1988. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2004. He has served as a Deputy Judge of the Court of First Instance and as a member of various statutory bodies, including the Municipal Services Appeals Board, the Town Planning Appeal Board Panel, the Appeal Tribunal Panel (Buildings) and the Environmental Impact Assessment Appeal Board. On 1 May 2025 he was appointed a Recorder of the Court of First Instance for three years, and he has been awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS) for public service. Mr Kwok's career spans public and private practice, and he has long taken part in statutory appeal bodies dealing with municipal, town planning, building and environmental matters, giving him experience across administrative and regulatory law. He continues to practise while sitting part-time as a Recorder. Recorders sit part-time to help the Court of First Instance with its caseload, usually for a renewable term of three years, allowing the Judiciary to deploy judicial resources flexibly. Judicial appointments in Hong Kong are made by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the independent Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, and a Recorder must be of a standing comparable to that of a High Court judge.