Pictures of the Hong Kong Judiciary

Submitted by Christopher Munn on Fri, 03/03/2017 - 12:23

Over the past few years I have been taking part in a project on the history of the Hong Kong Judiciary from 1841 to the present, which we hope will result in the publication of a book in the next year or so. Now that the documentary research is nearly complete, we are looking for historical photographs and other images to use as illustrations.

We have already looked at the likely candidates – books, newspapers, government archives and other public collections. Now we're hoping to find the hidden gems that are tucked away in private collections, family albums, or less well-known books and archives. These could be

  • pictures of judges, magistrates, lawyers and others connected with the administration of justice
  • pictures of court buildings, including especially interiors of courtrooms 
  • pictures relating to historical court cases, criminal or civil, and of participants in them
  • any other photographs, sketches, paintings, cartoons or other images connected with the history of the courts in Hong Kong.

We welcome any original images or pointers to where we may find them and we will, of course, gratefully acknowledge any help given.

Thank you!

Christopher Munn

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I should add that (since 1949) taking photographs or making drawings of proceedings inside a court is a summary offence in Hong Kong. This may explain why there are so few pictures of the interiors of courtrooms. Please do not break the law by attempting to remedy this!

Many thanks - particularly to those who have been in touch separately,

Chris

Chris,

Here are the buildings we've documented that I believe have a connection to the Judiciary.

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Place name Author
Central Magistracy (second generation) [1846-1913] David
Central Magistracy (third generation) [1915- ] David
Courthouse (1st Generation) [1841-1844] Herostratus
Exchange Building / Court House (later Supreme Court) [1843-1921] annelisec
Former Causeway Bay Magistracy [1960-c.1987] moddsey
Former Fanling Magistracy [1961- ] moddsey
Former French Mission Building, 1 Battery Path [1919- ] Admin
Former South Kowloon Magistracy [1936- ] moddsey
Harbour Master's House / Pedder's Hill [1841-c.1865] 80sKid
Magistracy (first generation), then Debtor's Prison [????-1856] David
Supreme Court (2nd Location) [1844-????] Herostratus
Supreme Court Building / former Legislative Council Building [1910- ] philk
Yau Ma Tei Police Station (1st generation) [1873-c.1960] David

(You can also see a list of all the Judiciary buildings on a single page).

If you click through to any building's page, then click the "Photos" tab, you'll see the photos we have for that building, eg https://gwulo.com/node/14864/photos

I found these by searching for pages that mention court / magistrate / magistracy, so I expect I've missed some. If there are any important buildings missing, or you see any mistakes in the list, please let us know.

Regards, David