Senior UK judge becomes fifth to leave top Hong Kong court

Hong Kong — 

A British justice connected Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal volition measurement down aft his word ends connected Monday, the city's judiciary said, the 5th overseas justness to permission the seat this year.

Judges from communal instrumentality jurisdictions are invited to beryllium arsenic non-permanent members successful the erstwhile British colony's apical court.

Their beingness has agelong been considered by authorities arsenic a motion of planetary assurance successful Hong Kong's justness system, which is abstracted from mainland China's opaque, party-controlled ineligible system.

However, the judiciary has seen an unprecedented exodus this year, with Nicholas Addison Phillips being the latest to permission the bench.

The 86-year-old has "indicated precocious that helium did not privation to person his word of assignment extended upon its expiry connected 30 September 2024 owed to idiosyncratic reasons," the judiciary said successful a connection connected Monday.

Authorities successful Hong Kong person enacted 2 nationalist information laws to quell dissent since huge, and astatine times violent, pro-democracy protests were quashed successful 2019.

The latest came into unit successful March, drafting disapproval from Western nations, including Britain and the United States, astir the authorities further curbing freedoms successful Hong Kong.

Two elder British judges resigned from Hong Kong's apical tribunal successful June.

One of them, Jonathan Sumption, 75, wrote an sentiment portion successful The Financial Times that helium had resigned due to the fact that "rule of instrumentality is profoundly compromised."

The other, Lawrence Collins, 83, cited Hong Kong's "political situation" arsenic the crushed for his resignation.

The different 2 who declined to widen their terms, an Australian justice successful March and a Canadian justice successful July, cited aged property and idiosyncratic reasons for their resignations.

Phillips, a erstwhile main justness of the United Kingdom's Supreme Court, has served for 12 years since helium joined the tribunal successful 2012.

The judiciary thanked him for his "support for the regularisation of instrumentality successful Hong Kong during his tenure."

It said connected Monday that "despite the departure of immoderate (non-permanent judges) successful caller years, an overwhelming bulk of the serving and departed (judges) person publically reiterated their continued assurance successful judicial independency successful Hong Kong."

Six overseas judges volition stay connected the Court of Final Appeal pursuing Phillips's departure.

Hong Kong had 5 overseas judges sitting successful its apical tribunal erstwhile the metropolis was handed backmost to China successful 1997.

The seat gradually expanded to 15 members successful 2019 and 2020 earlier downsizing for 4 consecutive years.