Pro-Beijing lawmakers voice concerns over foreign judges' support for gay rights

But members of the camp stopped short of pledging to block the appointments of Brenda Hale and Beverley McLachlin

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The appointments of Baroness Brenda Hale (left) of Britain and Beverley McLachlin of Canada must be approved by the Hong Kong legislature. Photo: Handouts

Published: 8:01am, 28 Apr 2018Updated: 11:11am, 28 Apr 2018

Pro-establishment lawmakers on Friday spoke out against the appointment of two leading foreign judges to Hong Kong’s top court over their support of same-sex rights but stopped short of pledging to block their appointments.

Baroness Brenda Hale and Beverley McLachlin – Britain’s current top judge and Canada’s former top judge – cleared their first hurdle to join the Court of Final Appeal with a five to one approval from a Legislative Council subcommittee on Friday.

The House Committee and Legco will now have to vote them in before they are formally appointed by Hong Kong’s top official, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, a process that officials hope can be completed by May. They would be the first female non-permanent judges in the city’s judiciary.

To date, Legco has never rejected the appointment of either local or foreign judges, with the voting process widely seen as a rubber stamping of recommendations offered by the administration and the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission – an independent committee comprising the city’s chief justice, the justice minister and representatives from the legal sector.

The Court of Final Appeal, located in Hong Kong’s Central district, is the city’s highest court. Photo: Fung Chang

But during the meeting on Friday, members of the pro-establishment camp voiced reservations over Hale and McLachlin’s “subjective views” on same-sex equality, saying they were echoing concerns expressed by members of the public.

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