Latest news with #SirWilliamYoung
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
South China Morning Post
08-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
New Zealand justice set to join Hong Kong's top court as non-permanent judge
Hong Kong's leader has accepted the recommendation on the appointment of a 73-year-old retired New Zealand justice to the city's top court, following the resignation of an Australian judge more than a month ago. Advertisement Sir William Gillow Gibbes Austen Young would serve as a non-permanent judge at the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong after the city legislature's endorsement, joining five other overseas justices, the government said on Thursday. 'He is a judge of eminent standing and reputation. I am confident that he will contribute substantively to the Court of Final Appeal,' Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said. Sir William Young retired as a permanent judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand in April 2022 after serving for 12 years. He then sat on the final appellate courts of Seychelles, Samoa and Fiji. Lee accepted the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission and would make the official appointment after the Legislation Council approved it. Advertisement He said with the appointment of Sir William Young, the list of non-permanent judges from other common law jurisdictions would consist of six justices from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
