On August 28, the Hong Kong Free Commission Foundation (CFHK) released its latest report urging the remaining 6 overseas non-permanent judges of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (CFA) to resign immediately. The report called for them to stop being complicit in the erosion of Hong Kong’s rule of law and to stop being a tool for whitewashing the breakdown of the legal system in Hong Kong for the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution actions.
Titled “Still Lending Prestige to Persecution: Why Hong Kong’s Foreign Judges Disgrace Common Law Tradition”, the report was written by James Joseph, Founder and Managing Director of The Duty Legacy Ltd and a board member of The Alliance for the Prevention of Atrocity Crimes. It is a continuation of CFHK’s earlier report released in May 2024 titled “Adding Prestige to Persecution: How Foreign Judges Undermine Hong Kong’s Freedom and Why They Should Resign”.
The report reveals how laws imposed by Beijing, especially the Hong Kong National Security Law of 2020 and the National Security Precautions Act of 2024 (Article 23), are eroding the rule of law in Hong Kong, limiting basic freedoms, and transforming the judicial system into a tool for political persecution.
The report names the 6 current foreign judges: Australian judges James Allsop, William Gummow, and Patrick Keane, UK House of Lords judges David Neuberger and Leonard Hoffmann, as well as New Zealand judge Sir William Young, who was appointed in May.
Since March 2024, 6 foreign judges have already resigned, with some explicitly expressing concerns about the erosion of judicial independence in Hong Kong. Lawrence Collins from the UK cited “the political situation in Hong Kong” as the reason for his resignation, while Jonathan Sumption stated that Hong Kong has “gradually become an authoritarian region” with serious damage to the rule of law.
The report highlights that several Court of Final Appeal judges have been involved in politically charged rulings, including the conviction of human rights activist Chow Hang-tung for “inciting others to participate in unauthorized gatherings”, the dismissal of Apple Daily’s founder Jimmy Lai’s appeal against similar charges, and the conviction of former Legislative Council member Ted Hui for disclosing information related to the alleged misconduct of Assistant Commander Yau Nai-keung in the “721 incident”.
While the foreign judges rarely directly participate in national security cases, the report argues that their continued retention amounts to an endorsement of the entire persecutory so-called “legal system”.
Furthermore, the report mentions how the National Security Law and National Security Precautions Act have led to the widespread abuse of vague “national security” charges.
Since 2019, more than 1,900 political prisoners have been detained, prosecuted, or sentenced, including 45 out of the 47 people involved in the Hong Kong 47 case who were given sentences ranging from 4 to 10 years.
Key actions by Beijing include cross-border crackdowns on overseas dissidents. The report questions whether the continued tenure of overseas non-permanent judges from Australia, New Zealand, and the UK conflicts with their respective countries’ legal and moral standards.
The report criticizes the Hong Kong authorities for using the presence of foreign judges to maintain the illusion of credibility in Hong Kong’s legal system.
In July, Secretary for Justice Rim Ding-kwok, who was sanctioned by the US State Department for undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy and engaging in transnational repression, referenced the appointment of New Zealand judge Sir William Young to the Court of Final Appeal as evidence of the credibility of Hong Kong’s judiciary during a speech in Paris.
Mark Sabah, CFHK’s Director for the UK and the EU, stated that “retired common law judges are allowing themselves to be used by the Hong Kong authorities to whitewash the repression of dissent and cover up the deprivation of freedoms of speech, press, and assembly guaranteed by the Basic Law”.
He emphasized that “this report makes it clear that it is high time for these foreign judges to resign. At best, they are out of touch with the current situation, and at worst, they are complicit in tyranny and become accomplices in repression”.
The report also provides four recommendations, calling for the US Congress to promptly pass the Hong Kong Judicial Sanctions Act to hold Hong Kong officials, judges, and prosecutors accountable for aiding the Chinese Communist Party’s repression. It urges countries like the UK and Canada to follow the US State Department’s lead in sanctioning Hong Kong officials responsible for repression and apply international sanctions to pressure overseas judges to resign. Additionally, it suggests that citizens who take up duties in Hong Kong courts should be restricted from holding public offices in their home countries to avoid conflicts of interest.