Trusted judge who fought for legal integrity of city

Mr Justice Michael Hartmann may not be the most publicly visible judge to have served in the High Court but few equal his reputation for handing down rulings that are consistently liberal, except, perhaps, for Mr Justice Kemal Bokhary.

Hartmann was one of the five Court of Final Appeal judges who ruled last month on the right of abode of foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong. While the whole city was waiting for the landmark ruling, Hartmann was the first judge on the panel to make a robust defence of the judiciary.

In last month's issue of Hong Kong Lawyer, published by the Law Society and which came out about two weeks before the ruling, Hartmann said Hong Kong's courts would remain as independent and well-respected as they are now, regardless of what some cynics may say. The following week, Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li, speaking at Chinese University, echoed this view and described a "fearless judiciary", which would deliver sound judgments regardless if they were in line with the government's wishes.

When, last Monday, the city's top court delivered its judgment, it refused to entertain the controversial request by the secretary for justice for it to refer to the National People's Congress Standing Committee for an interpretation of the Basic Law.

During his career as a full-time judge between 1991 and his retirement July last year, Hartmann heard numerous Judicial Review cases involving human rights, and on many occasions ruled against the government.

But his passion to uphold the rule of law and to safeguard the constitutional rights of Hong Kong people is unquestionable.