Hong Kong’s top judge warns against ‘unwarranted’ or ‘arbitrary’ criticism of courts
Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma says comments must be made on an ‘informed basis’, while new justice secretary Teresa Cheng urges appreciation for mainland China’s civil law system
Hong Kong’s top judge and the justice minister warned on Monday against “unwarranted” or “arbitrary” criticism of the courts, with Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li making a strong case for the importance of the city’s common law system.
But while newly appointed Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah also urged appreciation of mainland China’s civil law system at the official opening of the 2018 legal year, the head of the Bar Association at the same ceremony likened the city’s rule of law to being hit by an “earthquake” because of Beijing’s controversial decisions regarding Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.
Without specifying some of the recent high-profile rulings for which the judiciary has drawn fire, Ma acknowledged it was “healthy” for the public to comment, and “criticisms of the judiciary can be constructive in that they enable improvements to be made”.
However, he added, “any criticisms which are levelled against the judiciary should be on an informed basis” and “any unwarranted criticisms made against the rule of law cannot be of any benefit to the community”.
Ma insisted that judges should only be concerned with the law itself, and any political, economic or social issues were irrelevant.
