An appeal mechanism against “no case to answer” rulings made by the Court of First Instance in jury trials will come into operation on April 14, which, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government says, will prevent possible "miscarriage of justice".

The SAR government on Friday gazetted a relevant commencement notice under the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance 2023 on Friday.

No case to answer, usually at the conclusion of the prosecution's case, implies that the case comes to an end with the acquittal of the defendant, and the question of whether the defendant should give evidence need not be addressed.

“The new 'no case to answer' appeal mechanism addresses the lacuna in the criminal appeal system due to the prosecution's inability to appeal against erroneous rulings of no case to answer made by judges of the Court of First Instance in jury trials and prevents possible miscarriage of justice,” said a spokesman for the Department of Justice.

The new mechanism has awaited enactment of rules since the Legislative Council passed the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance 2023 on July 12, 2023, providing for a mechanism allowing the prosecution to appeal against rulings of no case to answer made by the Court of First Instance of the High Court in criminal trials with a jury.

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On Nov 14, 2024, the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee Rules made the rules setting out the relevant procedural matters for the new appeal mechanism and the LegCo approved those on Jan 8, 2025.

The SAR’s secretary for justice has appointed April 14 as the day on which the relevant provisions and rules will come into operation.

The commencement notice will be tabled at the LegCo on Feb 12 for negative vetting.