Judiciary reaching out to law firms for registration and use of iCMS upon its extension to civil action cases in High Court
The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
The Judiciary announced that starting this Friday (December 19), the integrated Court Case Management System (iCMS) will be extended to cover civil action cases (HCA) in the Court of First Instance of the High Court. The Judiciary is reaching out to law firms to assist with registration and use of iCMS.
The iCMS provides a series of electronic services, including sending and receiving case-specific court documents to and from the courts, inspecting or searching filed documents and other case-related information held by the courts, searching cause books, and making payments for court services.
The Judiciary encourages case parties, particularly law firms, to register and utilise e-filing for iCMS-enabled case types (Note). This offers a convenient, all-in-one and all-weather solution for the handling of court-related documents and payments anytime, anywhere. A 20 per cent concession is offered to iCMS users for three years on fee items of the High Court that are primarily or directly related to electronic handling of court documents.
With the iCMS, there is no need to visit the High Court Building to scan (this function is available to litigants-in-person only) and upload the electronic copy of the document to be filed using the self-service kiosks at the Resource Centre for Unrepresented Litigants or to make payments in the Accounts Office for paper filing.
The Judiciary is planning to make it mandatory for all legally represented parties to use e-filing under the iCMS (where available) from the latter half of 2026. To facilitate their migration from conventional paper mode to the iCMS in preparation for mandatory use, the Judiciary has been taking two proactive measures:
- inviting all law firms to make an appointment with the Judiciary for technical assistance on using the iCMS, either at the High Court Building or their own offices, when they are initiating a new case of an iCMS-enabled case type for the first time; and
- reaching out to all law firms which have not yet registered for iCMS accounts to help them register, open deposit accounts and provide on-site technical support where necessary to assist with e-filing procedures.
Taking into account law firms' responses and available resources, the Judiciary may require all law firms initiating a new case through paper filing to go through an assisted e-filing process to enhance training on iCMS. The Judiciary may also consider imposing a deadline for registration as a prerequisite for mandatory use of iCMS in 2026.
For more details about the iCMS, including its technical requirements, please visit the dedicated webpage on e-Courts of the Judiciary website atwww.judiciary.hk/en/e_courts/index.html.
For enquiries, please call the general enquiry hotline at 2477 1002 or the technical helpline at 2886 6474, emailenquiry@judiciary.hk, or visit the Help Centre at 5/F, Wanchai Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Wan Chai.
Note: The iCMS currently covers personal injury actions, tax claim proceedings, civil action proceedings and employees' compensation cases in the District Court; summons cases in the Magistrates' Courts; bulk claims in the Small Claims Tribunal; and selected case types of civil proceedings in the High Court, including civil appeal cases in the Court of Appeal, commercial cases, construction and arbitration cases, intellectual property cases and personal injury cases, as well as civil action cases upon its rollout on December 19, in the Court of First Instance.
The Judiciary, Photo source: reference image
