The Australian judge Robert French leaves the court of Hong Kong
Recently in November, the French defended his decision to stay in court, telling this mask that continued to “independently evaluate the risks and benefits for the rule of law to Hong Kong of my belonging to the CFA”.
THE Condemnation of the Australian citizen Gordon NG From a court of Hong Kong last year he intensified control over the remaining judges abroad who are at the height of the city’s legal system. NG was among the 45 activists of democracy imprisoned under the National Security Law of Beijing for having conspired to commit subversion.
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Has requested An intervention by Foreign Minister Penny Wong who urged the Australian judges to reconsider their positions on the pitch.
The three remaining Australian judges are: former judges of High Court Patrick Keane and William Gummow and the former head of the federal court James Allsop. Even the judges of the United Kingdom Leonard Hoffmann and David Neuberger continue to be part of the field.
The ranks of foreign judges of the final appeal court have been reduced through the resignation and retirements of 15 from the repression of national security of Beijing in 2020.
The role of the judges abroad in Hong Kong was regularly compared to “Canaries in the Carbone mine”, with their presence that acts as a thunderstorm’s litmus test map.
In a statement, the Hong Kong government expressed regret for the resignation of French, thanked him for his contribution and defended the independence of the judicial system.
“The presence or absence of individual judges will not undermine the integrity of the system, nor will they compromise the determination of the government (Hong Kong) in supporting the rule of law,” says the note.
Five judges resigned from the court in 2024 – Two of them, the British judges Lord Jonathan Sumping and Lord Lawrence Collins – explicitly citing the political situation as a reason for their departure.
At the time, the sumption said that Hong Kong was “slowly becoming a totalitarian state”, there was a “growing malaise” within the judiciary and that “the rule of law is deeply compromised in any area on which the government feels strongly”.
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The Court works with appeals listened to by five judges, who include four permanent judges and a non -permanent judge, typically chosen by the pool of foreign judges.
Foreign judges do not live in Hong Kong but travel there for sessions on an ad hoc base. None of the foreign judges has yet sitting for the appeals of the national security law, and it is possible that they will never be selected to do it or they could choose to make them not available for such cases.
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