Latest news with #CourtOfFinalAppeal
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Hong Kong appoints New Zealand judge to top court
Sir William Young. Photo: NZ Government A New Zealand judge has been appointed as a justice of Hong Kong's top court, after a years-long exodus of overseas jurists following Beijing's imposition of a sweeping security law on the finance hub. Hong Kong's lawmakers on Wednesday approved the appointment of Sir William Young, 73, to join five other overseas non-permanent justices from the UK and Australia. Hong Kong is a common law jurisdiction separate from mainland China and invites overseas judges to hear cases at its Court of Final Appeal. Their presence has been seen as a bellwether for the rule of law since the former British colony was handed back to China in 1997. Beijing passed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, following huge and often violent pro-democracy protests in the Chinese city the year before. Since then, several overseas judges have quit the Court of Final Appeal without finishing their terms, while others have not renewed their appointments. The lineup of overseas judges has gone from 15 at its peak down to five, not including Young. The newly appointed justice, who retired from his role as a New Zealand Supreme Court judge in April 2022, is expected to start in Hong Kong this month. Hong Kong leader John Lee accepted a recommendation to appoint Young in May and praised him as "a judge of eminent standing and reputation". Cases at the top court in Hong Kong are typically heard by a panel of four local judges and a fifth ad hoc member, who may be a foreign judge. In January, Hong Kong's chief justice said recruiting suitable overseas judges "may be less straightforward than it once was", given geopolitical headwinds. The government has defended the security law as necessary to restore order after the 2019 protests and said the city remains a well-respected legal hub. -AFP
CNA
5 days ago
- General
- CNA
Hong Kong appoints New Zealand judge to top court
HONG KONG: A New Zealand judge has been appointed as a justice of Hong Kong's top court, after a years-long exodus of overseas jurists following Beijing's imposition of a sweeping security law on the finance hub. Hong Kong's lawmakers on Wednesday (Jun 4) approved the appointment of William Young, 73, to join five other overseas non-permanent justices from the UK and Australia. Hong Kong is a common law jurisdiction separate from mainland China and invites overseas judges to hear cases at its Court of Final Appeal. Their presence has been seen as a bellwether for the rule of law since the former British colony was handed back to China in 1997. Beijing passed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, following huge and often violent pro-democracy protests in the Chinese city the year before. Since then, several overseas judges have quit the Court of Final Appeal without finishing their terms, while others have not renewed their appointments. The lineup of overseas judges has gone from 15 at its peak down to five, not including Young. The newly appointed justice, who retired from his role as a New Zealand Supreme Court judge in April 2022, is expected to start in Hong Kong this month. Hong Kong leader John Lee accepted a recommendation to appoint Young in May and praised him as "a judge of eminent standing and reputation". Cases at the top court in Hong Kong are typically heard by a panel of four local judges and a fifth ad hoc member, who may be a foreign judge. In January, Hong Kong's chief justice said recruiting suitable overseas judges "may be less straightforward than it once was", given geopolitical headwinds. The government has defended the security law as necessary to restore order after the 2019 protests and said the city remains a well-respected legal hub.
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
New Zealand judge gets nod from Hong Kong lawmakers to join top court
Hong Kong's legislature has endorsed the appointment of a 73-year-old retired New Zealand judge to the city's top court, the first foreign non-permanent justice to join in over a year amid a number of recent resignations. William Gillow Gibbes Austen Young, who retired as permanent judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand in April 2022 after serving for 12 years, will join five other overseas non-permanent justices from common law jurisdictions at the Court of Final Appeal. Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki told the Legislative Council on Wednesday that Young had 'a high status and outstanding reputation'. 'His practice areas are very wide, covering criminal, competition law and taxation cases … [Young's] appointment will make a great contribution to the work of the Court of Final Appeal,' the No 2 official said. Young is expected to begin his three-year term this month. Chan added that the appointment of more non-permanent justices from common law jurisdictions would allow the apex court to handle different cases 'more effectively and flexibly' and ensure its 'effective operation'.
South China Morning Post
14-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong judges doubt government to blame for lack of slavery law after sex offence case
Hong Kong's top judges have cast doubt on whether the government should be blamed for the lack of bespoke legislation penalising forced labour after a domestic helper failed to substantiate her complaint of sexual exploitation by her employer in two separate trials. The Court of Final Appeal on Wednesday also suggested the Filipino worker's legal challenge would be unable to compel the authorities to enact specific laws targeting slavery even if she won the present case. The helper, identified as CB, was behind an initially successful bid for a judicial review that police failed to properly investigate her complaint against her employer, an elderly doctor from Britain, due to the absence of specific legislation against forced labour. She claimed the doctor had repeatedly molested her and asked her to perform a series of sexual acts against her will over an eight-month span between September 2018 and April 2019. But the Court of First Instance's ruling in 2022 was partially overturned by the Court of Appeal last year, with three judges of the appellate court finding insufficient basis to hold that the enactment of a bespoke offence was 'the only effective solution' to what the helper described as a systemic failure. A renewed investigation conducted pursuant to the lower court's order reached the same conclusion that the helper was not a victim of forced labour. The doctor, identified as Z, was initially jailed for 2½ years on two counts of indecent assault, before the decision was quashed on appeal and the defendant acquitted on all charges in the retrial. The worker also lost a subsequent civil claim against him.
South China Morning Post
13-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Appointment of latest overseas justice to top court boosts judiciary
The departure of foreign judges from Hong Kong's top court in recent years has raised concerns about the future of a system that has served the city well. Five left last year, variously citing their age or personal or political reasons. Another resigned in April, leaving only five. The announcement that William Young, an eminent retired judge from New Zealand, has been hired to sit on the Court of Final Appeal is, therefore, most welcome. It gives the judiciary a boost and shows that even at a time of geopolitical tensions, leading legal figures are prepared to commit to Hong Kong. Young has enjoyed a long and distinguished career. He was appointed to New Zealand's High Court in 1997, its Court of Appeal in 2004 and Supreme Court in 2010, before retiring in 2022. The jurist is also well known for chairing a royal commission of inquiry into the Christchurch terror attack of 2019. Young meets the requirement that the part-time foreign judges have experience at the highest level. He will be a valuable addition. The appointment swiftly follows the premature resignation of Australian judge Robert French. It is encouraging that he has been replaced quickly. French expressed his respect for the integrity and independence of the Court of Final Appeal judges. But he also suggested the overseas judges had become 'increasingly anachronistic and arguably cosmetic'. That is not the position, nor can it ever be allowed to become so. The role played by overseas judges is an integral part of the arrangements put in place for Hong Kong's return to China in 1997. It is provided for by the Basic Law. Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung paid tribute to the 'immense' contribution of the foreign judges in his speech at the opening of the new legal year in January. He recognised that recruiting overseas judges with the right stature and experience had become more difficult amid the current 'geopolitical headwinds'.
