Hong Kong’s judicial independence gets vote of confidence from top British judges, with pair deciding to continue serving on city’s top court
- Supreme Court president Robert Reed and deputy Patrick Hodge announce they will carry on as non-permanent judges of Court of Final Appeal
- Reed says pair’s decision based on belief that judiciary continues to act ‘largely independently of government’
Two of Britain’s top judges have given a strong vote of confidence to Hong Kong’s judicial independence, announcing that they will continue serving at the city’s highest court.
British Supreme Court president Robert Reed on Friday said he and his deputy, Patrick Hodge, would carry on as non-permanent judges at Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal, as they had concluded that the city’s judiciary had continued to act largely independently of the government after the enactment of the Beijing-imposed national security law more than a year ago.
The announcement was a U-turn for Lord Justice Reed after indicating in March that he might quit, should he conclude the city’s judicial independence had been compromised.
“I have been closely monitoring and assessing developments in Hong Kong, in discussion with the foreign secretary and the lord chancellor,” he said on Friday. “Together, we have been reviewing the operation of the agreement under which UK judges have served there since 1997 in the light of those developments.
“At this time, our shared assessment is that the judiciary in Hong Kong continues to act largely independently of government and their decisions continue to be consistent with the rule of law.”
Reed also noted that there was still widespread support among the legal community in Hong Kong for the participation of British and other overseas judges in the work of the Court of Final Appeal.
