The opening of the new legal year, when judges get to don their ceremonial wigs, gowns and buckled shoes, is one of the most obvious remnants of colonial times to survive the handover.
An understandable desire to symbolise continuity, particularly with regard to the rule of law, probably lies behind the decision to maintain the ceremony with all its anachronistic touches.
But in recent times the occasion, the closest the legal profession gets to a policy address, has focused more on perceived changes, indeed threats, to the rule of law.
The speeches given by the four leading lights of the profession have become an opportunity for them to address the hottest legal issues and, in some cases, to let off a bit of steam.
Last week's ceremony was no exception. The outgoing chairman of the Bar Association, Alan Leong Kah-kit SC, used his speech to criticise the government's record on the rule of law. His onslaught clearly infuriated Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung Oi-sie, who sat with a face like thunder while Chief Justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang and Court of Final Appeal judge Kemal Bokhary politely applauded on either side of her.
The Department of Justice later released a lengthy point-by-point rebuttal of Mr Leong's allegations.