Two British Judges Quit HK Court Over Security Law

Two senior British judges, including the president of the UK Supreme Court, have submitted their resignation from Hong Kong's highest court as Britain said their presence was no longer tenable.

Executive councillor and barrister Ronny Tong called the decision "a devious attack" on Hong Kong's judiciary.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Robert Reed, who heads Britain's top judicial body, said he and fellow judge Patrick Hodge would leave their roles as non-permanent judges on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA).

"I have concluded, in agreement with the government, that the judges of the Supreme Court cannot continue to sit in Hong Kong without appearing to endorse an administration which has departed from values of political freedom, and freedom of expression," Reed said.

"Lord Hodge and I have accordingly submitted our resignations as non-permanent judges of the HKCFA with immediate effect."  

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: "We have seen a systematic erosion of liberty and democracy in Hong Kong. Since the National Security Law was imposed, authorities have cracked down on free speech, the free press and free association."

"The situation has reached a tipping point where it is no longer tenable for British judges to sit on Hong Kong's leading court, and would risk legitimising oppression," she added.

Tong told RTHK he found the reason behind the resignations "hugely disappointing', insisting Hong Kong enjoys judicial independence.

"To pull their judges from the Court of Final Appeal would create a false impression that Hong Kong's judiciary no longer enjoys its independence, and that I think is not only hugely unfair to the judges of the Court of Final Appeal but clearly a palpable lie to the world, and one cannot explain the reason for it except that it is a very devious attack on the integrity of our judiciary and One Country, Two Systems as a whole."

The senior counsel also said it may be time to consider whether there should still be foreign non-permanent judges on Hong Kong's top court.

"If you look around the world, there's no other country or place in the world which have foreign judges sitting on their court, particularly the final court. Hong Kong is very unique in this respect," Tong said.

"In the beginning of the handover, perhaps there's a need to maintain this perception, but 20 years after the handover and history has proven our judiciary is strong enough to stand on its own." (Additional reporting by Reuters)

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