Editorial | Appointment of latest overseas justice to top court boosts judiciary

The departure of foreign judges from Hong Kong’s top court in recent years has raised concerns about the future of a system that has served the city well. Five left last year, variously citing their age or personal or political reasons. Another resigned in April, leaving only five. The announcement that William Young, an eminent retired judge from New Zealand, has been hired to sit on the Court of Final Appeal is, therefore, most welcome. It gives the judiciary a boost and shows that even at a time of geopolitical tensions, leading legal figures are prepared to commit to Hong Kong.

Young has enjoyed a long and distinguished career. He was appointed to New Zealand’s High Court in 1997, its Court of Appeal in 2004 and Supreme Court in 2010, before retiring in 2022. The jurist is also well known for chairing a royal commission of inquiry into the Christchurch terror attack of 2019. Young meets the requirement that the part-time foreign judges have experience at the highest level. He will be a valuable addition.

The appointment swiftly follows the premature resignation of Australian judge Robert French. It is encouraging that he has been replaced quickly. French expressed his respect for the integrity and independence of the Court of Final Appeal judges. But he also suggested the overseas judges had become “increasingly anachronistic and arguably cosmetic”.

That is not the position, nor can it ever be allowed to become so. The role played by overseas judges is an integral part of the arrangements put in place for Hong Kong’s return to China in 1997. It is provided for by the Basic Law.

Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung paid tribute to the “immense” contribution of the foreign judges in his speech at the opening of the new legal year in January.

He recognised that recruiting overseas judges with the right stature and experience had become more difficult amid the current “geopolitical headwinds”.