WHEN JUDGE WAYNE WILSON asked to be given an extra five years on the bench, he had every reason to believe his application would be successful. The District Court judge has been administering justice in Hong Kong for more than three decades, longer than any other judge still in service.
At 60, the keen tennis player and light-aircraft pilot believes he is in his prime. 'I feel at the peak of my ability, both professionally and physically,' he said.
But the judge is to be forced into retirement, despite concerns that the Judiciary is increasingly lacking experience. As he clears his chambers at the District Court, his upturned wig sits forlornly on a chair with his judge's sash draped over the arm.
Judge Wilson's application for an extension has been turned down by the Chief Executive, who follows the advice of the independent Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (Jorc). The judge said Tung Chee-hwa initially asked the commission to reconsider, but it ultimately reached the same decision.
Having been appointed before January 1, 1987, his retirement age is set, by law, at 60. He says he is the last judge to be in this situation. District Court judges appointed after that date have a retirement age of 65.
Judge Wilson told the South China Morning Post he was surprised and very disappointed when his request was rejected. 'I was thinking it might not be much more than a matter of routine. An extension from the age of 60 to continue as a District Court judge was a very modest little request.'
The judge, who has not been told why his application was turned down, is critical of the secretive way in which Jorc, which advises on judicial appointments, conducts its business.
