Foreign judges will stay part of Hong Kong's 'hard as a rock' judicial system: Carrie Lam
08 June, 2021
Hong Kong will continue steadily to invite overseas judges to its courts and the city's legal system is always "hard as a rock", LEADER Carrie Lam said on Tuesday (Jun 8) amid international concern about the impact of a sweeping nationwide security law.
Worries over the power of Hong Kong's judicial program to uphold human rights while applying the new rules independently intensified the other day when the judiciary said Uk judge Brenda Hale would stage down from the most notable court next month.
Hale, Britain's previous Supreme Court president, is one of 13 overseas non-long term judges on the Courtroom of Final Charm, whose existence has long been regarded as a symbol of the guideline of laws after Britain came back its previous colony to China found in 1997.
Lam, speaking at her regular weekly media conference, said she'd not speculate on Hale's known reasons for stepping down when her three-season term expires.
"But I believe the judiciary in Hong Kong is really as hard just as a rock," she said. "The principle justice will continue steadily to invite experienced abroad judges" to Hong Kong courts.
The judiciary said the other day Hale did not want her appointment extended "for personal reasons".
In remarks made to a recently available legal seminar in Britain, Hale said Hong Kong's legal system "is functioning in accordance with the guideline of law, at least so far as commercial law can be involved".
"The jury has gone out of course how they will be able to operate the brand new national security legislation. There are a variety of dilemma marks up in the oxygen," she said.
Hong Kong’s foreign judges stem from an set up founded at its 1997 handover to greatly help maintain steadily its credibility as an international financial hub.
They result from common law jurisdictions like Britain, Canada and Australia and serve as non-permanent members of the court, this means they are called on periodically to take a seat on cases.
The current president of Britain's Supreme Court, Robert Reed, can be on the Court of Final Appeal and has met British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to go over the situation beneath the new law.
Reed told a House of Lords' panel in March he would not anticipate to serve or nominate some of his judges to serve if there was "any undermining of the independence of the Hong Kong judiciary".
Australian judge James Spigelman resigned previous September, citing the law on a comment to Australia's national broadcaster. Different overseas judges have since expanded their conditions or joined the court.
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