Fact · judiciary · 2024
Civil legal aid applications
民事法律援助申請宗數
Figure and reference date
9,506 applications (2024)
9 506 宗（2024年）
Notes and definition
Budget Head 94 (LAD): certificates granted in civil cases were 4,028.
Other figures in this group (judiciary)
Figures in the same group are not necessarily additive — check the basis note above first. Judiciary & law enforcement facts.
| Item / 項目 | Figure / 數字 | As of / 時點 | Source / 來源 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total annual caseload across all courts 各級法院全年總案件量 | 552,166 cases (2024) 552 166 宗（2024年） Govt press release on court caseload: magistrate courts were largest at 379,547. | 2024 | HKSAR Government: statistics of cases filed in the courts |
| Annual caseload of magistrates’ courts 裁判法院全年案件量 | 379,547 cases (2024) 379 547 宗（2024年） | 2024 | HKSAR Government: statistics of cases filed in the courts |
| Criminal legal aid applications 刑事法律援助申請宗數 | 3,459 applications (2024) 3 459 宗（2024年） Budget Head 94 (LAD): certificates granted in criminal cases were 2,763. | 2024 | The Budget Head 94: Legal Aid Department |
| Court of Final Appeal leave applications 終審法院上訴許可申請 | 229 (2024) 229 宗（2024） Case-intake line item in the Judiciary release (Annex A); the later substantive-appeal stage is listed separately as fact entry jud-cfa-substantive-appeals-2024, and the two must not be added into a total. | 2024 | HKSAR Government: statistics of cases filed in the courts |
| Court of Final Appeal substantive appeals 終審法院實質上訴案件 | 24 (2024) 24 宗（2024） Annex A line item; the stage after leave is granted. Must not be added to leave applications as a “total CFA caseload”. | 2024 | HKSAR Government: statistics of cases filed in the courts |
| High Court, Court of Appeal caseload 高等法院上訴法庭收案 | 272 criminal + 577 civil appeals (2024) 刑事上訴 272 宗、民事上訴 577 宗（2024） Court of Appeal line item in the Judiciary annual report, covering criminal appeals from the Court of First Instance and the District Court only; the same entry also carries the civil appeals, and sentence reviews and “other cases” are separate lines in that report. | 2024 | Hong Kong Judiciary Annual Report 2024: Caseload, Case Disposal and Waiting Time at Different Court Levels |
| High Court, Court of First Instance caseload 高等法院原訟法庭收案 | 2,162 criminal + 20,001 civil matters (2024) 刑事 2,162 宗、民事 20,001 宗（2024） Court of First Instance line items in the Judiciary annual report: the civil part is the civil jurisdiction figure, which includes bankruptcy and companies winding-up matters but excludes civil appeals from tribunals; the criminal part adds up criminal cases, confidential miscellaneous proceedings and criminal miscellaneous proceedings. | 2024 | Hong Kong Judiciary Annual Report 2024: Caseload, Case Disposal and Waiting Time at Different Court Levels |
| High Court Court of Appeal criminal appeals (press release Annex A) 高等法院上訴法庭刑事上訴（新聞公報附表 A） | 277 (2024) 277 宗（2024） The same line in Annex A of the government press release, with sentence reviews and “other cases” (Secretary for Justice’s reference or reservation of a question of law) folded in; broader than the annual report’s criminal appeals line and not to be used as the annual report figure. | 2024 | HKSAR Government: statistics of cases filed in the courts |
| High Court Court of First Instance civil matters (press release Annex A) 高等法院原訟法庭民事案件（新聞公報附表 A） | 20 126 (2024) 20 126 宗（2024） The same line in Annex A of the government press release, with civil appeals from tribunals folded in; broader than the annual report’s civil jurisdiction line and not to be used as the annual report figure. | 2024 | HKSAR Government: statistics of cases filed in the courts |
| District Court caseload 區域法院收案 | 1,623 criminal + 50,596 civil matters (2024) 刑事 1,623 宗、民事 50,596 宗（2024） Family proceedings (20,326) and Lands Tribunal business are handled under the District Court/Lands Tribunal. | 2024 | HKSAR Government: statistics of cases filed in the courts |
| CFA substantive appeal waiting time 終審法院實質上訴等候聆訊 | 95 civil / 97 criminal days (2024) 民事 95 日、刑事 97 日（2024） Average waiting time per the Judiciary annual report. | 2024 | HKSAR Government: statistics of cases filed in the courts |
| High Court criminal waiting time 高等法院刑事聆訊輪候 | 369 days (CFI criminal fixture list, 2024) 原訟法庭刑事 Fixture List 369 日（2024） CFI civil fixed hearing average was 172 days. | 2024 | HKSAR Government: statistics of cases filed in the courts |
8 more figures in this group are listed in Judiciary & law enforcement facts.
Other figures from the same official source
These figures come from the same registered document: “The Budget Head 94: Legal Aid Department” (Legal Aid Department). Being in one document does not make them additive.
| Item / 項目 | Figure / 數字 | As of / 時點 | Source / 來源 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal legal aid applications 刑事法律援助申請宗數 | 3,459 applications (2024) 3 459 宗（2024年） Budget Head 94 (LAD): certificates granted in criminal cases were 2,763. | 2024 | The Budget Head 94: Legal Aid Department |
How to cite this figure
Hong Kong Story, “Civil legal aid applications”, https://hongkongstory.org/en/facts/jud-legalaid-civil-2024, data as at 2024 (retrieved ＿).
中文：香港紀事館，〈民事法律援助申請宗數〉，https://hongkongstory.org/facts/jud-legalaid-civil-2024，資料時點 2024（查閱日期 ＿）。
Machine-readable: /api/v1/facts.json (id = jud-legalaid-civil-2024) · OpenAPI 3.1 ·/llms.txt
Registered source
The Budget Head 94: Legal Aid Department
Legal Aid Department
The official document carries no registered publication date, so only the retrieval date 2026-10-10 is given — no publication year is invented.
This site is a secondary compilation: the official text prevails. If the figure above differs from the official document, the official document is correct.