Former New Zealand Supreme Court judge set to join Hong Kong's top court following exodus of foreign justices

HKFP

09-05-2025

A former New Zealand Supreme Court judge is set to join Hong Kong's top court following a slew of foreign judges' departures over the past year, with some citing political reasons.
William Young will serve as a judge at Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal (CFA) after he receives the Legislative Council's endorsement, the government said on Thursday.
The approval of the legislature is part of the standard procedure for appointing foreign judges to the top court.
Chief Executive John Lee has already green-lit Young's appointment after the New Zealand judge's name was put forward by the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC), the body responsible for advising judicial appointments.
According to Young's curriculum vitae, the 73-year-old was a permanent judge at New Zealand's highest court – the Supreme Court – from 2010 to 2022. Before that, he served as a judge in the High Court and the Court of Appeal. He became the Court of Appeal president in 2006.
As a barrister in the 1980s and 1990s, his practice involved fraud, competition law and tax. He also prosecuted for government bodies, including New Zealand's fraud and tax departments.
'He is a judge of eminent standing and reputation. I am confident that he will contribute substantively to the Court of Final Appeal,' Lee said in a statement on accepting the JORC's recommendation on Young's appointment.
Young will be the sixth foreign judge at the CFA, joining five other justices from the UK and Australia.
Since the start of last year, six foreign justices have left and one – James Allsop from Australia – joined the CFA.
Top court exodus
Since its establishment in 1997, the CFA has sporadically extended invitations to judges from other common law jurisdictions to join its appeal panel.
This practice has been regarded as a testament to the international community's trust in the city's judicial system. But the top court has seen a number of foreign judges resign or not extend their tenures over the past year, with some citing political changes since Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020.
Last year, the apex court lost five judges. Anthony Murray Gleeson from Australia did not renew his term when it ended in February 2024, citing old age; UK judges Jonathan Sumption and Lawrence Collins quit in June before their terms ended; while Canada's Beverly McLachlin and the UK's Nicholas Phillips did not extend their terms.
Among them, British judge Jonathan Sumption wrote in an opinion piece in June, just days after his resignation, that Hong Kong was 'slowly becoming a totalitarian state.' Judges operate in an 'almost impossible political environment created by China,' he said.
Australian judge Robert French resigned last month, saying that the role of foreign justices in the top court had become 'arguably cosmetic.'
Before the recent string of departures, two British judges in 2022 – Robert Reed and Patrick Hodge – quit the CFA, citing an erosion of political freedom.
The government has defended the city's legal system amid the resignations, saying in April that the 'presence or absence of individual judges will not undermine the integrity of the system, nor impair the HKSAR Government's determination in upholding the rule of law.'