Two British Judges Resign from Hong Kong's Top Court: Exploring the Reasons...

One Week Ago, 14 Hong Kong Democracy Activists Found Guilty

Two British judges of the Court of Final Appeal, the highest court in Hong Kong, have submitted their resignations. One of the judges cited the "political situation" as the reason for stepping down.

On the 7th, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing the South China Morning Post (SCMP) and others, that the Hong Kong Department of Justice announced that non-permanent British judges of the Court of Final Appeal, Lawrence Collins and Jonathan Sumption, have submitted their resignations.

Judges attending the 'Year of Law' event in Hong Kong in January 2023 [Photo source=EPA Yonhap News archive photo]

Judge Collins stated in a press release, "I am resigning due to the political situation in Hong Kong." Judge Sumption said he would issue a statement next week regarding his resignation. Collins and Sumption have served as non-permanent judges of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal since 2011 and 2019, respectively.

The media pointed out that "the resignation of two British judges from Hong Kong's highest court has delivered a political bombshell that sent shockwaves through the legal community," and reported that a source from the Hong Kong government described their resignations as an "unfortunate matter."

A related source said, "One can understand how these foreign judges have found themselves caught in a sandwich amid complex geopolitical circumstances."

Regarding the two judges' resignations, the media noted, "This resignation came just one week after the Hong Kong courts applied the National Security Law to convict 14 pro-democracy activists."

Earlier, the Hong Kong courts convicted 14 pro-democracy figures in the largest case under the Hong Kong National Security Law. Out of 16 pro-democracy figures, 14?including Leung Kwok-hung, Lam Cheuk-ting, and Raymond Chan?were found guilty. Two others tried alongside them were acquitted.

Citizens are lining up to attend a trial held at the West Kowloon Court in Hong Kong on the 30th of last month.
[Photo by Hong Kong/EPA Yonhap News]

They had conducted an unofficial "primary election" ahead of the Legislative Council (LegCo) elections in September 2020 to support opposition candidates, and Hong Kong prosecutors arrested them in January 2021 on charges of attempting to overthrow the Chinese government.

The Hong Kong National Security Law, enacted and implemented by China in June 2020, allows for the death penalty or life imprisonment for four crimes: secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces. This case is considered the largest under the National Security Law, with 47 pro-democracy figures indicted. Western media referred to the case as the "Hong Kong 47" due to the total number of defendants.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong, returned from the United Kingdom to China in 1997, is the only jurisdiction in China that adopts common law and, under the Basic Law (Hong Kong's mini-constitution), can appoint overseas judges. The media reported that this was regarded as a sign of trust in Hong Kong's rule of law, but that trust was shaken when British and Australian judges resigned from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal in 2020 in protest against the enactment of the National Security Law.

Subsequently, in 2022, the British government raised concerns over the National Security Law and permanently withdrew its Supreme Court judges from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. As a result, two British Supreme Court judges, including Chief Justice Robert Reed, immediately resigned from their non-permanent judge positions at the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. Hong Kong Secretary for Justice, Andrew Cheung, expressed regret over the resignations of the two British judges in a statement issued that day.

He also explained that the Court of Final Appeal currently has four local non-permanent judges and eight non-permanent judges from other common law jurisdictions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.