A former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada is stepping down from Hong Kong’s top court, local officials said on Monday, the latest overseas judge to resign from the court amid concerns about judicial independence.
Hong Kong’s judiciary confirmed that Beverly McLachlin would complete her term as a non-permanent overseas judge at Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal, without giving more details.
Canadian media outlets reported that McLachlin noted in her statement that she has reached 80 years of age and would retire from that position when her term ends next month.
Photo: Reuters
She said she intended to spend more time with her family and she continues to have confidence in the members of the court and their independence, the reports said.
Also on Monday, a British judge who resigned from the same court last week said he stepped down because the rule of law in Hong Kong is in “grave danger” and judges operate in an “impossible political environment created by China.”
Jonathan Sumption described a growing “paranoia of the authorities” and judges being intimidated by a “darkening political mood” in the territory in an article published by the Financial Times on Monday.
“Hong Kong, once a vibrant and politically diverse community, is slowly becoming a totalitarian state. The rule of law is profoundly compromised in any area about which the government feels strongly,” he wrote. “The least sign of dissent is treated as a call for revolution.”
He wrote that he remained on the court in the hope that the presence of overseas judges would help sustain the rule of law, but “I fear that this is no longer realistic.”
McLachlin and Sumption were the latest of several overseas judges who have quit Hong Kong’s highest court in recent years. Fifteen such judges served in 2019. About seven remain following McLachlin’s departure next month.
Hong Kong’s government expressed its strong disagreement with Sumption’s comments in a lengthy statement yesterday. It insisted that Hong Kong’s courts are not under any political pressure from Chinese authorities or the local government when handling cases, and said the rule of law has not declined.
Hong Kong Chief Justice Andrew Cheung (張舉能) said in a statement that any suggestion that judicial decisions have or could be compromised is a serious allegation and should not be lightly made.
He added that there is tension between protecting fundamental rights and safeguarding national security, but the territory’s judiciary is committed to both causes.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee (李家超) doubled down in his weekly briefing, saying the professional duty of judges is to interpret and apply the law in accordance with legal principles and evidence, regardless of their political views about a certain law.
Lee also said some British officials and politicians have attempted to “weaponize” the UK’s judicial influence to target China and Hong Kong, and the territory should not allow that.
“It is sad and disappointing that our judges are abandoned by a few overseas counterparts and have been so unfairly treated,” he said.
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