Two British judges have resigned from Hong Kong’s top court, about a week after a landmark verdict that convicted 14 prominent democracy activists of subversion, amid a national security crackdown on dissent in the territory.
In a statement on Thursday, the Hong Kong judiciary said two prominent British judges, Lawrence Collins and Jonathan Sumption, had tendered their resignations from the Court of Final Appeal (CFA), where they served as non-permanent judges.
“I have resigned from the Court of Final Appeal because of the political situation in Hong Kong, but I continue to have the fullest confidence in the court and the total independence of its members,” Collins was quoted as telling the Financial Times.
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Sumption confirmed to Reuters he had resigned and said he would make a statement next week. Collins offered no immediate response to a Reuters request for comment.
The presence of top foreign jurists on Hong Kong’s top court has long been seen as a symbol of the rule of law that underpins the territory’s international image.
Hong Kong Chief Justice Andrew Cheung (張舉能) said he noted the resignations with regret.
“All judges and judicial officers will continue to abide by the judicial oath and administer justice in full accordance with the law, without fear or favour, self-interest or deceit,” Cheung said in a statement yesterday.
Cheung said the top court now has four local non-permanent judges and eight non-permanent judges from other common law jurisdictions, including two overseas judges appointed last year and last month.
One of the three British judges remaining, David Neuberger, said he could not comment on the resignations, but he intended to stay on as a non-permanent judge in Hong Kong.
In an e-mail response to Reuters’ questions, Neuberger said he wanted to “support my colleagues in the CFA (for whom I have great respect) and more generally to support the rule of law in Hong Kong, as best I can.”
The other judges remaining are from Canada and Australia.
The Hong Kong Bar Association yesterday said it “strongly believes that their resignations will not affect the ability of our apex court in discharging its judicial functions.”
It also expressed “every confidence” in the independence of Hong Kong’s judicial system.
The resignations swell the number of British jurists who have severed ties to Hong Kong’s highest court amid a years-long crackdown on dissent under a China-imposed national security law in 2020 following mass pro-democracy protests.
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