At least eight out of 10 remaining overseas judges at Hong Kong’s highest court to stay on
- UK earlier pulled out two serving judges in controversial move widely condemned in city as political ploy
- Three Australian judges and five of their British peers intend to continue serving
The overseas judges revealed their intentions on Thursday as Hong Kong’s leader accused the UK of undermining judicial independence with its “politically planned” move, calling it “disturbing” and unacceptable that the British government was linking the withdrawal to concerns about the city’s national security law.
While Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor hit back at the resignation of lords Robert Reed and Patrick Hodge the day before, the Post has found that three Australian judges and five British judges intend to continue serving.
The three Australians are justices William Gummow, Anthony Gleeson and Robert French, who stated in an email to the Post: “We support the judges of the Court of Final Appeal in their commitment to judicial independence.”
Five other British judges – lords Jonathan Sumption, David Neuberger, Leonard Hoffmann, Nicholas Phillips and Lawrence Collins – confirmed their intention to remain as well in a separate joint statement.
“At a critical time in the history of Hong Kong, it is more than ever important to support the work of its appellate courts in their task of maintaining the rule of law and reviewing the acts of the executive,” they said.
The judges said they were “entirely satisfied” with the independence and integrity of the Court of Final Appeal.