Hong Kong must never let politics taint its judiciary

Grenville Cross says abuse heaped on the judge in the Occupy police assault case should alert us to the dangers of politicisation, as illustrated by battles over the judiciary elsewhere in the world

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The Chief Justice of Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal, Geoffrey Ma Tao-li, inspects the ceremonial guard at the opening of the legal year in January. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 12:36pm, 1 Mar 2017Updated: 7:24pm, 1 Mar 2017

After then US president Barrack Obama nominated appeals court judge Merrick Garland to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court in March last year, Republican Senate leaders announced they would not consider any nominations during Obama’s last year in office.

Scalia had been a conservative member of the court, and a more liberal replacement could change the court’s ideological balance, and would give Democratic appointees a majority on the court for the first time since 1970. Since Senate approval is required for Supreme Court nominees, Garland’s nomination finally lapsed, without a hearing, on January 3 this year, having been before the Senate for 293 days, twice as long as any other nomination for the Supreme Court.

On January 31, Republican President Donald Trump nominated another appeals court judge, Neil Gorsuch, a leading proponent of originalism in interpreting the US constitution, to fill Scalia’s vacancy. Democratic senators incensed over a conservative filling Garland’s “stolen seat” are inclined to oppose Gorsuch’s nomination.

Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch stands in the office of Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar (not pictured) before their meeting, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, last month. Photo: EPA

Such is the level of politicisation that judges are sometimes disrespected. On February 3, for example, after US District Judge James Robart lifted a 90-day executive travel ban on citizens from seven countries, Trump denounced the ruling of “this so-called judge”, and told a conference of police chiefs “the courts seem to be so political”.

However, even in places like Hong Kong where judges are chosen by independent mechanisms, respect for judicial authority is by no means guaranteed, as the crude abuse thrown at the judge who convicted seven police officers of assaulting an activist has illustrated.

Hong Kong must never let politics taint its judiciary

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Independent judicial process deserves the utmost respect

Independent judicial process deserves the utmost respect