Foreign judges are fed up with Hong Kong’s political environment
Three have left the city’s highest court this month
IT IS AN unusual arrangement, to be sure. Since its establishment in 1997, the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong has had both local and foreign judges on its bench. The set-up was part of the deal that handed the territory from Britain to China that year. The foreigners, who hold non-permanent seats, tend to have impressive legal backgrounds and come from other common-law jurisdictions, such as Britain, Australia and Canada. So they are accustomed to exercising judicial power “independently and free from any interference”, as laid out in the territory’s mini-constitution, called the Basic Law.
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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Passing judgment”
From the June 15th 2024 edition
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As a trade war looms, China looks to cut its reliance on America
Helping America’s hawks get inside the head of Xi Jinping
China’s leader is a risk-taker. How far will he go in confronting America?
Snuffing out the flame of freedom in Hong Kong
Dozens of pro-democracy activists are thrown into jail for up to a decade
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A big gathering of young cyclists is ended by officials
A spate of horrific car-rammings shakes China
They are known as “revenge on society” attacks
Mega-polluter China believes it is a climate saviour
It accounts for almost 40% of global investment in clean energy
