Two senior British judges said Thursday they had resigned from Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal, as concerns deepen over judicial independence following the recent enactment of a new national security law.
Lawrence Collins, 83, and Jonathan Sumption, 75, former justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, both confirmed to AFP that they had quit their positions in the former British colony. "I have resigned from the Court of Final Appeal because of the political situation in Hong Kong," Collins said in an announcement released through his London legal chambers.
"But I continue to have the fullest confidence in the Court and the total independence of its members," he added. In a brief statement to AFP, Sumption said he had "resigned from the court" without providing any further details on the reasons. "I shall be making a statement next week," he added.Hong Kong's judiciary had earlier confirmed their departures, noting the pair had "tendered their respective resignations to the Chief Executive".
Chief Justice Andrew Cheung noted "with regret" their decisions to quit in a statement that reiterated "the judiciary's commitment to upholding the rule of law and judicial independence in Hong Kong". Cheung has "complete confidence that the CFA will continue to fully perform its constitutional role as the final appellate court in Hong Kong", it said, adding "suitable candidates" from other common law jurisdictions will keep being appointed.
The statement insisted the court's operation "will not be affected by any change in membership". Collins joined the court in 2011 while Sumption joined in 2019. Judges from common law jurisdictions are invited to sit as non-permanent members at Hong Kong's top court, which is separate from mainland China's opaque, party-controlled legal system.
Appointments of these overseas judges "help maintain a high degree of confidence in (Hong Kong's) judicial system" and enables the city to keep strong ties with other common law jurisdictions, city leader John Lee said in March. The resignations were the first since Hong Kong enacted a homegrown national security law in March, on top of another security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 to quell dissent. The United Nations, the European Union as well as countries such as the United States and Britain have raised concerns that the new security law will further curtail human rights and civil liberties.
But Chinese and Hong Kong authorities insist the laws are needed to restore stability and prosperity following the huge, at times violent democracy protests in 2019, as well as to combat threats from "local terrorism and foreign interference".
Veteran Australian judge James Spigelman resigned from Hong Kong's top court in September 2020, citing the then-new national security law as the reason. UK Supreme Court President Robert Reed and fellow judge Patrick Hodge followed suit in 2022, with the duo saying the Hong Kong government had "departed from values of political freedom and freedom of expression".
Eight overseas non-permanent judges -- including three from the UK, four from Australia and one from Canada -- remain at Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal following the departure of Collins and Sumption.