British justice at Hong Kong's top court declines to renew term

London — 

Another overseas, nonpermanent justice astatine Hong Kong's apical court, 86-year-old Briton Nicholas Phillips, has chosen not to renew his word aft it ended connected Sept. 30, becoming the 5th overseas justice to measurement down from the Court of Final Appeal this year.

Phillips told VOA done his chamber, Brick Court Chambers, successful an email Monday, "I person declined the invitation to service for a further 3 twelvemonth word connected the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong for idiosyncratic and not governmental reasons."

According to the chamber, helium would not remark further.

The Hong Kong Judiciary thanked him successful a connection sent to online media The Witness for his publication to the enactment of the Court of Final Appeal and his enactment for the regularisation of instrumentality successful Hong Kong during his tenure implicit the past 12 years. It added that "the caller changes successful tribunal unit volition not impact the cognition of the Court of Final Appeal."

It went connected to accidental contempt the departure of the judges this year, the bulk of serving and outgoing nonpermanent judges person publically reaffirmed their continued assurance successful Hong Kong's autarkic judicial strategy and the courts' committedness to upholding the regularisation of law.

The Court of Final Appeal is formed by the main justice, 3 section imperishable judges, and 10 nonpermanent judges. The nonpermanent judges see 4 section judges and six overseas judges.

Anthony Gleeson, an 85-year-old erstwhile main justness from Australia, did not renew his word successful March, citing his precocious age. Canadian justice Beverley McLachlin besides said she would not renew her word aft July due to the fact that she was 80 and hoped to walk much clip with family.

In June, 2 British judges, Lawrence Collins, 83, and Jonathan Sumption, 75, resigned from the court, saying it was due to the fact that of the city's worsening governmental concern and "profoundly compromised" regularisation of law.

Rights activists accidental Hong Kong's authorities is utilizing the overseas judges to lend credibility to its crackdown connected rights and freedoms since Britain returned the fiscal hub to China successful 1997.

The Washington-based Committee for Freedom successful Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation issued a study successful May criticizing overseas judges successful Hong Kong for undermining its freedoms and called for them to quit. The instauration said it was shocked that it took Phillips truthful agelong to discontinue contempt a bid of high-profile cases targeting Hong Kong's pro-democracy groups, which prompted astatine slightest 2 judges to resign.

Alyssa Fong, nationalist affairs and advocacy manager for CFHK Foundation, said the much overseas judges that resign, the little the Hong Kong authorities tin usage them to warrant rights abuses.

"I impulse Phillips' chap communal instrumentality judges from the U.K. and Australia to instantly travel suit. It is dumbfounding that immoderate judges proceed to take to ruin their reputations and their integrity for the Hong Kong authorities and Chinese Communist Party," she told VOA.

After Phillips' departure, six overseas judges stay successful the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal — Leonard Hoffmann and David Neuberger from Britain and William Gummow, Robert French, Patrick Keane, and James Allsop from Australia.

Hoffmann, 90, has been a nonpermanent justice of the Court of Final Appeal since 1998, and his word volition extremity successful mid-January adjacent year. Gummow's word volition expire adjacent July, portion the presumption of the different 3 Australian judges volition expire successful 2026 oregon 2027.

At the extremity of June, Neuberger heard Hong Kong's lawsuit accusing Apple Daily paper laminitis Jimmy Lai of unauthorized assembly and agreed with the arguable verdict. Neuberger came nether criticism, past resigned arsenic president of an adept sheet of the Media Freedom Coalition.

Kevin Yam, a Hong Kong activist-lawyer present based successful Australia, pointed retired connected societal media X that Phillips could person near bureau connected the grounds of age, but helium chose to usage idiosyncratic reasons, which helium notes would invitation immoderate speculation.

"When adjacent Phillips does this, the 4 remaining Australian judges connected the HKCFA instrumentality retired adjacent much similar sore thumbs," Yam said connected X.

The Hong Kong authorities awarded Phillips the Gold Bauhinia Star successful July past twelvemonth and described him arsenic "a beardown protagonist of the regularisation of instrumentality successful Hong Kong and precise overmuch a person of Hong Kong."

Beijing agreed to uphold Hong Kong's "one country, 2 systems" governmental operation erstwhile assemblage ruler Britain transferred the metropolis backmost to China successful 1997.

Critics accidental Beijing has violated that woody by forcing harsh information laws connected Hong Kong that person seen autarkic media unopen down oregon permission the metropolis and dissidents look apprehension oregon fly abroad.

Beijing says Hong Kong's 2020 National Security Law was needed to support stableness aft a bid of pro-democracy protests successful the past decade, but has utilized it to arrest, jailhouse and effort hundreds of activists, stifling Hong Kong's erstwhile vibrant civilian society.

In March, Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously and rapidly approved their ain sweeping nationalist information instrumentality known arsenic Basic Law Article 23, strengthening the government's quality to soundlessness dissent.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.