Hong Kong's justice minister defends foreign judges after attack by Beijing adviser

Foreign judges in the top court demonstrated Hong Kong's adherence to rule of law, the justice minister said yesterday, a month after a Beijing adviser accused them of lacking knowledge of the Basic Law.

"At the moment, we are privileged to have more than 10 such overseas judges who sit at our Court of Final Appeal from time to time," Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung said. "All of them are leading jurists in the common law world."

Yuen said the presence of the judges, who sit in non-permanent positions, proved Hong Kong's rule of law remained in good shape.

"Would these eminent judges be willing to sit in our Court of Final Appeal if they do not enjoy true and complete judicial independence? Or would these eminent judges remain silent if they felt any form of interference in the discharge of their judicial duties? The answers are more than obvious," Yuen said in a speech, "The Past, Present and Future of the Rule of Law in Hong Kong", delivered to the Hong Kong Public Administration Association.

Yuen's comments came after questions were raised by Rao Geping , a Peking University law professor who serves on the Basic Law Committee advising the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Rao said some foreign judges did not understand the Basic Law and the requirement that non-local judges be appointed to the top court, which he called a transitional practice, could be changed in 2047 when the "one country, two systems" format expires.