New Hong Kong top judge vows to defend rule of law

Hong Kong’s new top judge took office yesterday vowing to defend the rule of law in this former British colony, where activists worry that the territory’s semi-autonomous status is eroding under Chinese rule.

While Beijing resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, it let the territory retain its British-influenced political, economic and legal systems and Western-style civil liberties. But 13 years on, some local activists fear that the territory’s insulation from Chinese authoritarian rule is weakening, pointing to Beijing’s willingness to issue rulings that trump the Hong Kong government and Hong Kong courts.

Assuming office as only Hong Kong’s second chief justice since the change in sovereignty, Geoffrey Ma (馬道立) promised to ­vigorously protect the integrity of the city’s courts.

“I fully understand that the local community has very high expectations for the judiciary. I will definitely do everything in my power to protect the rule of law and judicial independence. That is my mission as chief justice,” Ma told reporters.

Ma, who was educated in England and graduated from Birmingham University, will lead a panel of five judges in giving the final say on local cases.

Hong Kong’s lawyers and human rights activists welcomed the 54-year-old jurist’s appointment when it was announced in April, expressing confidence that he will be a sound guardian of the legal system.

The South China Morning Post said in an editorial yesterday that Ma faces a tough challenge ­living up to the strong record of his predecessor, Andrew Li (李國能), whom the newspaper said “erased many of the doubts about our guaranteed freedoms.”

“In Ma’s success as chief justice lies the continued success of the rule of law in Hong Kong, and ultimately the success of ‘one country, two systems,’” the Post wrote, invoking the moniker used to describe Hong Kong’s special political status under Chinese rule.

Ma’s first challenge will come next year, when the Court of Final Appeal hears a case in March that has already put local courts at odds with the central Chinese government. The court must decide whether the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s government enjoys sovereign immunity against a lawsuit filed by a US distressed debt fund in Hong Kong.

Beijing has sided with Kinshasa, while a lower court has ruled that the African country only enjoys limited immunity, which doesn’t cover a foreign nation’s business affairs.