After the return of Hong Kong, the judges and barristers of the Court of First Instance and the District Court of the High Court still maintained the tradition of wearing wigs during British rule.
In Britain and most Commonwealth countries, wigs are one of the court clothes of lawyers and judges. This wig with a black robe gives people a sense of solemnity and ceremony, and it is also a symbol of the British judicial system.
There are several different opinions about the meaning of wearing a wig. Some people think that it is obviously false for judges and lawyers to wear wigs of specified styles according to their status, which gives people a feeling of "dehumanization" and symbolizes the justice of the law. Wearing a wig for a judge means getting rid of selfish distractions, becoming the embodiment of the rule of law, handling cases impartially, and cooperating with the accuracy and emphasis of stability and balance required by the judicial organs. Some people think that this means that justice is a formal and solemn act with a sense of ceremony, rather than a random act in the street or on the kang; Judges and lawyers wear gray wigs, which makes people feel respected and respected. It is in line with the habit of taking the elderly who have insight into the world and the world as mediators in traditional society. Judges wear wigs, and their rulings are more convincing, representing the authority and importance of judges. There is also a saying that in order to protect judges and lawyers, judges' judgments and lawyers' defense may cause some people's dissatisfaction. Wearing wigs allows judges and lawyers to hide their identities, which also means that they have no enmity with the defendants. No matter what the verdict is, they are only exercising their powers entrusted by law.
The wigs originally used by judges and barristers were shoulder-length. Since 1780, small wigs have been used in civil cases. The wig tie-wig used now appears in 1822 and is made of horsetail hair. This kind of wig for court dress is very expensive. The wigs used by judges cost about 65,438+0,500 each, almost 300 more than ordinary wigs. The bench wig used in the ceremony even reached 4000 pounds. In order to help judges buy expensive traditional clothes, the authorities will give judges of the High Court an allowance of about 30,000 pounds, and judges of the Circuit Court will receive an allowance of 20,000 pounds. Wigs are expensive because the workmanship of each wig is so fine that it can't be mass-produced by machines or production lines. It takes craftsmen 44 hours to weave and roll.
Many judges and lawyers only have one wig and never change it, because they think that the older the wig, the higher their qualifications in the legal profession. After a law student is qualified as a lawyer, the best gift from his family or friends is a wig made by a famous artist. The skills of many wig makers have been passed down from generation to generation, and many wig makers' families require buyers to sign each wig sold for the record. In these records, you can find the autographs of many famous people, because many famous politicians are lawyers.