Hong Kong’s judiciary says city’s top court operations face limited impact after Australian judge declines to renew tenure
- Australian judge Anthony Gleeson, 85, ‘did not wish’ to renew his tenure as an overseas non-permanent justice on the apex court, citing his age
- Gleeson’s departure leaves city with nine overseas non-permanent justices, down from a high of 15 in 2020
Hong Kong’s judiciary has maintained the city’s top court faces “no significant impact” on its operations after an Australian justice declined to renew his tenure owing to age, bringing the number of overseas judges serving on it down to nine.
The judiciary said on Tuesday that Anthony Gleeson “did not wish” to renew his tenure, which expired on February 29, as an overseas non-permanent justice on the apex court.
The 85-year-old’s departure leaves the city with nine overseas non-permanent justices serving in Hong Kong, down from a high of 15 in 2020.
“The judiciary is grateful for Mr Justice Gleeson’s valuable contributions to the work of the [Court of Final Appeal] and his support for the rule of law in Hong Kong during his tenure as a [non-permanent judge from another common law jurisdiction] in the past 15 years,” it said.
The judiciary added there was an average of around 10 overseas justices serving on the apex court since 2000, and that the number of cases it handled had remained about the same.
An effort to “identify suitable candidates” from overseas common-law jurisdictions to serve on the Court of Final Appeal would continue, the judiciary said.
“The departure of Mr Justice Gleeson has no significant impact on the operation of the CFA,” it said.
Of the nine remaining overseas non-permanent justices serving on the apex court, five are from the UK, three are from Australia and one is from Canada. Their ages range from 71 to 89.