11 July 2025
SHG has announced that new Regulations under the Criminal Justice (Fixed Penalties) Ordinance 2020, are now ready for adoption and are set to commence on 01 October 2025. This marks a significant step towards the full implementation of the Fixed Penalties system.
The Criminal Justice (Fixed Penalties) Ordinance, 2020, was passed by the previous Legislative Council to streamline the handling of certain minor offenses (such as parking offences). An initial version of the Regulations required to introduce Fixed Penalties was approved by the Executive Council on 14 June 2022. However, these regulations were quickly identified as not being fit for purpose and were therefore not enacted.
Following a comprehensive review and period of consideration, new, robust regulations, specifically The Criminal Justice (Fixed Penalties) Regulations 2025, have been prepared and are ready to be brought into force. The Criminal Justice (Fixed Penalties) Regulations 2022, will be revoked.
In parallel with the development of the Fixed Penalties Ordinance, an important amendment to the Police and Criminal Evidence Ordinance 2003, relating to criminal records (Section 62A), was passed in 2019. This amendment was designed to modernise criminal record keeping by shifting the requirement to record all convictions to only recording convictions for imprisonable offenses (unless specifically exempted) and any other identified offenses. Despite being passed, this amendment has not yet been brought into force.
The 2019 amendment also provides for the creation of regulations to govern various aspects of the criminal records database, including:
- When certain non-imprisonable offenses do or do not need to be recorded.
- When certain imprisonable offenses do not need to be recorded.
- How the criminal records database will be set up and maintained.
- How people can ask for information from the criminal records database.
- How information from the criminal records database can be shared when requested.
SHG remains committed to enhancing the efficiency and fairness of the criminal justice system and will provide further updates on the commencement of the criminal records amendment in due course.
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