投訴法官

香港市民近年對法庭判決甚有意見, 於是有人鼓吹"監官會", 有人發起集體投訴。我都希望不滿的人要搞清楚究竟不滿的是甚麼, 然後提出怎樣去解決。可是, 我看不到具體建議。為了方便進一步討論, 我可以提供一些資料作為事實基礎, 掌握了一些事實, 討論才有意義。

首先, 讓我回應上一篇的一段貼文, 據稱是雷鼎鳴教授的文章:

...想深一層，其實國籍也不一定是最關鍵問題，在英美加澳等國家，當法官前要先經過嚴格的品格及安全檢查，由情報單位負責，倒是香港沒有這要求。...

雷教授真的知道香港法官任命的程序嗎? 面試入圍的法官, 在未正式被委任前, 除非是現職的公務員, 否則要填寫背景審查表(GF200), 要接受警方及廉署的背景審查, 以及由政府醫生負責的驗身, 再由「司法人員推薦委員會」投票通過 (而終審法院法官及高等法院首席法官的任命還須由行政長官徵得立法會同意)。我不知雷教授所指的「情報單位」是甚麼, 97前警察有政治部(俗稱邵氏的Security Branch, 縮寫SB, 跟Shaw Brothers的縮寫一樣, 是主要收集共產黨情報的單位, 回歸就解散了, 在SB當差的都自動獲英國護照), 但政治部以前基本上沒有參與公務/公職人員任命的背景審查的。轉貼雷教授講法的朋友請自己向他澄清他要甚麼「情報單位」來審查法官。

投訴法官先要搞清楚投訴甚麼, 不滿司法決定(定罪/脫罪及判刑), 途徑是去上訴, 我舉香港、澳洲新南威爾斯省、英國及紐約這4個地方的機制為例, 其他普通法地區推論也該是這樣。 資料顯示:

香港 (司法機構)

...

Principle of Judicial Independence

2.2...Since a judicial decision is made by the judge in the course of independence adjudication, a complaint against the decision cannot be entertained. Anyone who feels aggrieved by a judge's decision can only appeal (where this is available) through the existing legal procedures.

(https://www.judiciary.hk/doc/en/publications/complaintsjjoleaflet.pdf)

New South Wales (Judicial Commission)

The Commission cannot:
...
review a case for judicial error, mistake or other legal grounds

(https://www.judcom.nsw.gov.au/complaints)

United Kingdom (Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman)

You cannot use the complaints process to challenge a decision or sentence. You should get legal advice about how to appeal.

(https://www.gov.uk/complain-judge-magistrate-tribunal-coroner#:~:text=Contact%20the%20Judicial%20Appointments%20and,a%20judicial%20conduct%20complaint%20form.)

New York ( the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct)

To File a Complaint about a Judge

---

1. COURT DECISIONS:

If you disagree with the decision of a judge, the appropriate remedy is to appeal the decision. Please contact the relevant court clerk’s office to obtain information on how to appeal a court decision.(https://www.nycourts.gov/ip/judicialconduct/index.shtml)

從而可見, 不是我在耍官腔, 而是若涉司法決定, 一般是不滿判刑的輕重, 去上訴喇。只有法官的行為、操守及語言等並非司法決定, 就可以向相關機構投訴。從香港司法機構去年的年報看到(下列), 對法官行為方面的投訴是0宗, 判刑過輕的不滿應由律政司負責監察採取行動, 若覺得這機制無效就請提建議出來討論。

Complaints against Judges and Judicial Officers

Number of Complaints Disposed of by the Chief Justice and the Court Leaders	Nature of Complaints				2019 Total
	Judicial / Statutory Decision	Judicial Conduct	Both Judicial / Statutory Decision and Judicial Conduct	Dissatisfaction with the Court Leader’s handling and / or findings of the original complaints

Chief Justice	4	0	0	5	9
Chief Judge of the High Court	38	0	2	NA	40
Chief District Judge	14	0	2	NA	16
Chief Magistrate	2971	0	6	NA	303
Sub-total	353	0	10	5	368

Notes:
1.Includes 240 complaints relating to the judicial decision of one court case. 2.The total number of cases filed in 2019 is 513,148. 3.Complaints related to judicial conduct can be broadly classified according to their nature. Among complaints on judicial conduct above, 2 cases are related to attitude and behavior in court, 4 cases are related to handling of actual proceedings in court, and 4 cases are related to mixed nature. 4.There is no justified case among the complaints above.