Evening sessions urged as fraud, money-laundering cases pack Hong Kong courts

The long wait for criminal cases to be heard in Hong Kong’s courts could persist because of a surge in fraud and money laundering litigation, the judiciary has warned, as the Law Society suggested extending sitting hours into the evening.

In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council’s panel on administration of justice and legal services, the judiciary said that the total caseload in 2025 reached about 537,000, around 4 per cent higher than the annual average over the previous five years.

As of July this year, criminal cases had waited an average of 358 days to be heard in the High Court, while those in the District Court waited 354 days on average – the longest among all courts.