The home of the Court of Final Appeal is the Old Supreme Court Building at 8 Jackson Road, Central. The CFA has occupied that building since September 2015.

The Old Supreme Court Building has a long history and its exterior is now a declared monument under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance (Cap.53).

Click here for a brief history of the Old Supreme Court Building, now known as the Court of Final Appeal Building.

Monday to Friday
8:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

(Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays)

By MTR:

• Exit K of the Central MTR Station (Island & Tsuen Wan Lines) – Exits J1, J2 and J3 are also close to the building

By bus:

• Stop HSBC Main Building – Des Voeux Road Central (Westbound): 5X, 109, 111, 111P, 182, 302, 307, 307A, 373, 601P, 641, 681P, 934, 934A, 935, 948, 968, 969, 969A, 969B, 979, N11, N90, N182, N307, N368, N373, N619, N680, N969 and P968
• Stop Statue Square – Des Voeux Road Central (Eastbound): 25, 26, 101, 104, 109, 111, 111P, 113, 115, 182, 182X, 307, 373, 601P, 603, 603A, 603P, 619, 619X, 641, 673, 681P, 690, 722, 961P, 961S, 969N, E11S, H1, N8X, N11, N90, N121, N182, N307, N368, N373, N619, N680 and N691
• Stop Statue Square – Chater Road (Eastbound): 1, 5B, 10, 12A, 26, 40M, 900, 907B, 907C, 969B, 980A, 980X, 981P, 982X, 985, 985A, 985B and H1

By minibus:

• Green minibus No. 28 – From Baguio Villa (upper) to Causeway Bay (Sun Wui Road), with a stop at Chater Road

By tram:

• Stop 68W Bank Street – Kennedy Town direction (Westbound)
• Stop 31E Bank Street – Shau Kei Wan direction (Eastbound)

By taxi:

• Nearby Statue Square

By car:

• The set down point is Chater Road (nearby Statue Square).  There is no parking at the Court, but parking is available to the public in a number of car parks within the proximity of the Court, including the Star Ferry, the City Hall and the Cheung Kong Centre.

Please contact a member of staff at the Information Counter or the Court of Final Appeal Registry should you require wheelchair access to the CFA.

Yes, you can sit in either courtroom whenever there is a hearing. You can walk around the public areas of the building. Private areas that are out of bounds to the public are clearly demarcated.

No, the CFA library is not open to the public. However, in due course, guided visits will be available. The library will be one of the places you will see on such a visit.

A pilot scheme has been introduced since mid November 2015 under which guided visits are conducted for school students.

Click on Guided Visits for details.

No, photography is not allowed in the CFA Building.

When the Court is sitting, hearings generally begin at 10:00am and continue until around 1:00pm. There may be a short break in the morning. Hearings generally resume in the afternoon at 2:30pm and continue until around 4:30pm.

When the Appeal Committee is sitting, applications for leave to appeal to the Court generally begin at 10:00am as well.

• Click here for a list of forthcoming final appeal hearings before the Court
• Click here for a list of forthcoming leave application hearings before the Appeal Committee.
• Click here for a list of forthcoming hearings before the Registrar.

No, there is no minimum age for admission. However, given the formal nature of court hearings, it is not recommended for infants or small children.

A Summary of Facts in English and in Chinese will be prepared by the Judicial Assistants for each upcoming final appeal before the CFA. Each Summary of Facts contains a brief description of the relevant parties to the proceeding, issues, facts, decisions of the lower courts and a diagram of the Judicial Bench. The Summary of Facts provides some background information to assist the visitors attending final appeal hearings at the CFA, but is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of the legal arguments.

The Summary of Facts is uploaded to the website shortly before the hearing and a copy of the Summary of Facts is also available outside the courtroom of the hearing.

No.

Click here for some etiquette rules which you are advised to observe during a hearing.

Hearings are generally conducted in English.

No.

Yes, a free wi-fi service, GovWiFi, is available at certain hotspots at the CFA, provided by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer. To avoid interference to the recording of court proceedings, other mobile networks (e.g. 3G, 4G networks) are not allowed. Only text-based (as opposed to voice or image-based) communication with GovWiFi is allowed inside the courtroom. The Court may withdraw the permission to use wi-fi, particularly when the integrity of the court proceedings is at risk.

Yes, you can text or “tweet” from the courtroom during a hearing. The reasonable use of text-based (as opposed to voice or image-based) communications in courtrooms, provided that this occurs without interfering with the proper administration of justice and without disturbing others in the courtroom is regarded as legitimate and permissible in promoting open justice.

However, there are certain restrictions. Please refer to Practice Direction 32 (Use of Information Technology and Text-based Communications in Courtrooms). In particular, mobile phones or other mobile communication devices must first be switched to airplane mode, disconnecting them from any cellular telecommunications network and only then connected to the wi-fi provided by the court may be used as a means for text-based communications subject to fulfilment of the conditions and requirements set out in Practice Direction 32. All alerts of incoming messages or communications on such mobile communication devices must be switched to silent mode and the vibration function disabled.

To ensure that proceedings are conducted consistently with the proper administration of justice and to avoid any improper interference with the court’s processes, the Court may withdraw permission for the use of text-based communications at any time.

Yes, there are electronic lockers in the CFA Building for you to store your belongings.

Yes, information leaflets about the CFA are available at the information counter.

No, it is generally not possible to meet a CFA judge in person during a visit to the CFA.