Chief justice warns on pitfalls of judges holding non-judicial posts
Chief Justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang yesterday opened the debate on whether judges should continue serving in non-judicial public posts.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the opening of the legal year, the city's top judge stressed that the judiciary never sought those appointments for itself.
'If a community consensus emerges that it is no longer necessary to call on a serving judge for such an appointment, the judiciary would equally have no objection,' he said.
Mr Justice Li's comments follow a year of controversy surrounding posts held by High Court judge Mr Justice Pang Kin-kee. Mr Justice Pang has been criticised recently for decisions he made as chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC). Some observers fear those decisions, which pan-democrats feel favoured government-friendly parties, may have weakened the perception of independence that the appointment of a serving judge is meant to bestow.
Mr Justice Pang, who also chairs the advisory committee vetting top civil servants' post-retirement jobs, again stirred outrage in approving former housing chief Leung Chin-man's decision to take a job with a developer who had benefited from decisions made under his watch.
And last month, Mr Justice Pang was severely criticised by the chief justice after he had issued two conflicting decisions in the same case, eight months apart, then retracted one of them when the error was pointed out to him.
Without mentioning the case again, the chief justice said judges at all levels were undoubtedly conscious of the fact that their performance was judged in 'the court of public opinion'.
'Judges are well aware that the collective reputation of the judiciary depends on the mechanism of high professional standards by each and every judge,' Mr Justice Li said. But it was wrong to suggest judicial work suffered as a result of appointments.
Judges who took work outside the judiciary would have their judicial work reduced accordingly, he said.
Yesterday, the Bar Association, in a letter to the Legislative Council, said: 'No judges should be asked to perform any extra-judiciary function which is or may be perceived to be political in nature'. A Legco panel will discuss the issue today.
The vice-chairman of the Civic Party, Alan Leong Kah-kit, a senior counsel present at the ceremony, said: 'I think that this is a very clear message from the chief justice that [judges serving in non-judicial posts] is not what the judiciary wants.'
If judges were perceived to be making political judgments, which was inevitable when serving in roles such as the EAC chairmanship, it would be very damaging to the image of an independent judiciary, he said.
Mr Justice Pang is on leave and was not present at the ceremony yesterday. The chief justice said his remarks were not directed at any particular person.
