Recruiting foreigners to Hong Kong’s top court now more complex: chief justice

Andrew Cheung says presence or absence of overseas judges on highest court will not undermine integrity of legal system

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Andrew Cheung, the chief justice, acknowledged the contributions of overseas judges over the years and said the judiciary was “broader than any individuals”. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 5:38pm, 20 Jan 2025Updated: 12:35am, 21 Jan 2025

The recruitment of overseas judges to serve on Hong Kong’s highest court has become “less straightforward” amid geopolitical tensions but their presence or absence will not undermine the integrity of the legal system, the chief justice has said.

Andrew Cheung Kui-nung on Monday also warned against drawing “sweeping conclusions” about the rule of law or judicial independence based on a few high-profile national security cases.

In an address at a ceremony to mark the start of the legal year, Cheung said the system of inviting overseas judges to sit on the city’s Court of Final Appeal to help hear cases would remain. He highlighted that the presence of such judges had “long stood as a symbol of Hong Kong’s commitment to legal excellence and judicial independence”.

The involvement of the foreign non-permanent judges has become a subject of controversy in recent years after a series of resignations following the implementation of the Beijing-imposed national security law in 2020, which drew criticism and sanctions from the West.

The chief justice said it was “unfortunate” that a few judges had felt unable to carry on their roles in the city.

The “orchestrated harassment and pressures” some judges had faced indicated “how politicised the office of an overseas non-permanent judge on the court has now become” and also reflected underlying geopolitical tensions, he added.