Hong Kong institutions hosted talks by US Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia weeks before his death
Events at Chinese University and University of Hong Kong drew city’s leading legal minds
Antonin Scalia, the US Supreme Court justice who died at age 79 on Sunday, visited Hong Kong less than two weeks ago.
Speaking at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on February 1 and at the University of Hong Kong on February 2, the conservative judge flashed the wit and rhetorical skills that marked his nearly 30 years on America’s highest bench.
At Chinese University, Scalia took part in a dialogue with Mr Justice Kemal Bokhary of the Court of Final Appeal. The two examined the role of judges and offered insights on democracy before an audience of over 200 people, including many of the city’s leading legal minds.
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The next evening, Scalia spoke at the University of Hong Kong, joined by Professor Bryan Garner of the Southern Methodist University School of Law, with whom Scalia co-authored the recently released book Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts.
The two promoted textualism and originalism, legal principles underpinning Scalia’s judicial philosophy.
Scalia told the HKU audience judges were supposed to give effect to the intent of legislation. The US constitution, he believed, should be interpreted as its eighteenth-century framers understood it.
As at Chinese University, a distinguished audience assembled. Two of the five permanent judges of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal attended the talk, including Robert Ribeiro, who served as moderator. US Consul General Clifford Hart also attended.
