Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)
Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal | |
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香港終審法院 | |
![]() The logo features the Court of Final Appeal Building | |
Established | 1997 |
Location |
8 Jackson Road, Central, Hong Kong[1] |
Coordinates | 22°16′51″N 114°09′37″E / 22.28090°N 114.16035°ECoordinates: 22°16′51″N 114°09′37″E / 22.28090°N 114.16035°E |
Composition method | Appointed by the Chief Executive acting in accordance with the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission with the endorsement of the Legislative Council |
Authorized by |
Hong Kong Basic Law Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance |
Judge term length | The Chief Justice and permanent judges shall vacate their offices when they attain the age of 65, but there is no retiring age for non-permanent judges |
No. of positions | One Chief Justice, at least three permanent judges and at most 30 non-permanent judges |
Website | Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal |
Chief Justice | |
Currently | Geoffrey Ma |
Since | 1 September 2010 |
This article is part of the series: Courts of Hong Kong |
Law of Hong Kong |
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Administration
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Civil courts
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Legal profession |
Court of Final Appeal | |||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 香港終審法院 | ||||||||
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The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (Chinese: 香港終審法院) is the final appellate court of Hong Kong.
Role
Before 1 July 1997, Hong Kong was a British Dependent Territory, and the power of final adjudication on the laws of Hong Kong was vested in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. Based on one country, two systems principle, Hong Kong retains its highly autonomous power and maintains its own legal system. The Court of Final Appeal was thereby established in Central, Hong Kong. Since then, it serves as the court of last resort, thus executing the power of final adjudication on the laws of Hong Kong.
Under the Basic Law, the constitutional document of Hong Kong, the special administrative region remains a common law jurisdiction. Judges from other common law jurisdictions can be recruited and serve in the judiciary as non-permanent judges according to Article 92 of the Basic Law. Judges appointed pursuant to Article 92 have served in the judiciaries of England and Wales, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
The court has the power of final adjudication with respect to the law of Hong Kong as well as the power of final interpretation over local laws including the power to strike down local ordinances on the grounds of inconsistency with the Basic Law.[2][3] The power of final interpretation of national law including the Basic Law is vested in the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China (NPCSC) by virtue of Article 158 of the Basic Law and by the Constitution of the PRC, however national laws which are not explicitly listed in Annex III of the Basic Law are not operative in Hong Kong.
Article 158 delegates such power to the courts of Hong Kong for interpretation while handling court cases. Although this arrangement has attracted criticism of "undermining judicial independence", an interpretation by the NPCSC does not affect any court judgments already rendered. Controversy regarding this power of interpretation arose in the right of abode issue in 1999.
Building
From its inception until September 2015, the court was located in the Former French Mission Building, in Central.[4] In September 2015 the court relocated to the former (until 2011) Legislative Council Building, which was originally the colonial Supreme Court (1912–1985).
Gallery
- The Court of Final Appeal is currently housed in 8 Jackson Road, former home of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, from 7 Sept 2015
- Plaque beside the entrance of the Court of Final Appeal
- The Court of Final Appeal building seen from Chater Road before its renovation
- The Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong was housed in the Former French Mission Building until September 2015
- Entrance of the Former French Mission Building
List of Permanent Judges
Current Chief Justice
Name | Born | Appointed by | Took office | Tenure length | Previous judicial office |
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Geoffrey Ma | 11 January 1956 (age 62) |
Donald Tsang | 1 September 2010 | 8 years, 44 days | Recorder of the Court of First Instance (2000–01) Judge of the Court of First Instance (2001–02) Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (2002–03) Chief Judge of the High Court (2003–10) |
Current Permanent judges
Name | Born | Appointed by | Took office | Tenure length | Previous judicial office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robert Ribeiro | 20 March 1949 (age 69) |
Tung Chee-hwa | 1 September 2000 | 18 years, 44 days | Recorder of the Court of First Instance (1997–99) Judge of the Court of First Instance (1999–2000) Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (2000) |
Robert Tang | 7 January 1947 (age 71) |
Leung Chun-ying | 25 October 2012 | 5 years, 355 days | Deputy District Judge (1982) Deputy High Court Judge (1986) Recorder for the High Court of Justice/Court of First Instance (1995–2004) Judge of the Court of First Instance (2004–05) Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (2005–06) Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (2006–12) |
Joseph Fok | 24 September 1962 (age 56) |
Leung Chun-ying | 21 October 2013 | 4 years, 359 days | Recorder of the Court of First Instance (2003–09) Judge of the Court of First Instance (2010–11) Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (2011–13) |
Former Chief Justice
No. | Name | Appointed by | Took office | Left office | Tenure length | Previous judicial office |
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1 | Andrew Li | Tung Chee-hwa | 1 July 1997 | 31 August 2010 | 13 years, 61 days | Deputy District Judge (1982) Deputy High Court Judge (1991) |
Former permanent judges
No. | Name | Appointed by | Replacing | Took office | Left office | Tenure length | Previous judicial office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Henry Litton | Tung Chee-hwa | Inaugural | 1 July 1997 | 14 September 2000 | 3 years, 75 days | Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (1992–95) Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (1995–97) |
2 | Charles Ching | Tung Chee-hwa | Inaugural | 1 July 1997 | 7 October 2000 | 3 years, 98 days | Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (1995–97) |
3 | Kemal Bokhary | Tung Chee-hwa | Inaugural | 1 July 1997 | 25 October 2012 | 15 years, 116 days | Judge of the High Court of Justice (1989–93) Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (1993–97) |
4 | Patrick Chan | Tung Chee-hwa | Litton | 1 September 2000 | 20 October 2013 | 13 years, 49 days | Judge of the District Court (1987–91) Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court (1991–1992) Judge of the High Court of Justice (1992–97) Chief Judge of the High Court (1997–2000) |
List of Non-Permanent Judges
Current Non-Permanent judges from Hong Kong
Name | Appointed by | Took office | Previous judicial office |
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Frank Stock | Donald Tsang | 1 September 2010 | Deputy High Court Judge (1991) Judge of the High Court of Justice/Court of First Instance (1992–2000) Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (2000–09) Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (2009–14) |
Kemal Bokhary | Leung Chun-ying | 25 October 2012 | Judge of the High Court of Justice (1989–93) Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (1993–97) Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal (1997–2012) |
Patrick Chan | Leung Chun-ying | 21 October 2013 | Judge of the District Court (1987–91) Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court (1991–92) Judge of the High Court of Justice (1992–97) Chief Judge of the High Court (1997–2000) Permanent Judge of the Court of Appeal (2000–13) |
Current Non-Permanent Judges from other common law jurisdictions
Chinese name | English name | Jurisdiction | Appointed by | Took office | Remarks |
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賀輔明勳爵 | Lord Hoffmann | ![]() | Tung Chee-hwa | 12 January 1998 | Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1995–2009) |
苗禮治勳爵 | Lord Millett | ![]() | Tung Chee-hwa | 28 July 2000 | Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1998–2004) |
紀立信法官 | Murray Gleeson | ![]() | Donald Tsang | 1 March 2009 | Chief Justice of Australia (1998–2008), Chief Justice of New South Wales, (1988–1998) |
華學佳勳爵 | Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe | ![]() | Donald Tsang | 1 March 2009 | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2009–2013), Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2002–2009) |
廖柏嘉勳爵 | Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury | ![]() | Donald Tsang | 1 March 2009 | President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2012–2017), Master of the Rolls (2009–2012), Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2007–2009) |
郝廉思勳爵 | Lord Collins of Mapesbury | ![]() | Donald Tsang | 30 June 2011 | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2009–2011); Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2009) |
簡嘉麒勳爵 | Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony | ![]() | Donald Tsang | 30 June 2011 | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2009–2017), Master of the Rolls (2005–2009) |
范理申勳爵 | Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers | ![]() | Leung Chun-ying | 1 October 2012 | President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2009–2012), Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (2005–2008), Master of the Rolls (2000–2005) |
施覺民法官 | James Spigelman | ![]() | Leung Chun-ying | 8 April 2013 | Chief Justice of New South Wales (1998–2011) |
甘慕賢法官 | William Gummow | ![]() | Leung Chun-ying | 8 April 2013 | Justice of the High Court of Australia (1995–2012) |
范禮全法官 | Robert French | ![]() | Leung Chun-ying | 31 May 2017 | Chief Justice of Australia (2008–2017) |
韋彥德勳爵 | Lord Reed | ![]() | Leung Chun-ying | 31 May 2017 | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2012–present), Senator of the College of Justice (1998–2012) |
何熙怡女男爵 | Baroness Hale of Richmond | ![]() | Carrie Lam | 30 July 2018 [5] | President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2017-present) |
麥嘉琳法官 | Beverley McLachlin | ![]() | Carrie Lam | 30 July 2018 [5] | Chief Justice of Canada (2000-2017) |
Former non-permanent judges from Hong Kong
- Sir Denys Roberts (28 July 1997 – 27 July 2003)
- Sir Alan Huggins (28 July 1997 – 27 July 2003)
- Art McMullin[6] (28 July 1997 – 27 July 2003)
- Neil Macdougall[7] (28 July 1997 – 27 July 2003)
- Sir Derek Cons[8] (28 July 1997 – 27 July 2006)
- Philip Gerard Clough[9] (28 July 1997-27 July 2006)
- William James Silke[10] (28 July 1997 – 27 July 2009)
- Kutlu Tekin Fuad[11] (28 July 1997 –27 July 2009)
- Sir Noel Power (28 July 1997 – 19 November 2009)
- Gerald Nazareth (28 July 1997 – 27 July 2012)
- John B. Mortimer (28 July 1997 – 27 July 2015)
- Henry Litton (14 September 2000 – 27 July 2015)
- Charles Ching (7 October 2000 – 30 November 2000)
- Robert Tang (1 September 2010 – 24 October 2012)
- Michael Hartmann (1 September 2010 – 31 August 2016)
Former non-permanent judges from other common law jurisdictions
/ Lord Cooke of Thorndon (28 July 1997 – 27 July 2006) Sir Edward Somers (28 July 1997 – 27 July 2003) Sir Anthony Mason (28 July 1997 – 27 July 2015) Sir Daryl Dawson (1 September 1997 – 31 August 2003) Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead (12 January 1998– 11 January 2004) Sir Gerard Brennan (28 July 2000 – 27 July 2012) Sir Thomas Eichelbaum (28 July 2000 – 27 July 2009) Lord Woolf (28 July 2003 – 27 July 2012) Lord Scott of Foscote (28 July 2003– 27 July 2012) Sir Ivor Richardson (28 July 2003 – 27 July 2009) Michael McHugh (1 July 2006 – 30 June 2012) Sir Thomas Gault (1 July 2006 – 19 May 2015)
See also
References
- ↑ "Court Services & Facilities - Court of Final Appeal". Judiciary.gov.hk. 2015-01-09. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ↑ Archived 16 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Archived 4 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Finance Committee - Public Works Subcommittee (Papers) 8 Nov 95". Legco.gov.hk. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- 1 2 Hong Kong Gazette Notice GN5815/2018
- ↑ "Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal - Former Judges - Mr Arthur Michael McMULLIN". Hkcfa.hk. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ↑ "Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal - Former Judges - Mr Neil MacDougall". Hkcfa.hk. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ↑ "Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal - Former Judges - Sir Derek Cons". Hkcfa.hk. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ↑ "Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal - Former Judges - Mr Philip Gerard Clough (Deceased)". Hkcfa.hk. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ↑ "Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal - Former Judges - Mr William James SILKE (Deceased)". Hkcfa.hk. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ↑ "Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal - Former Judges - Mr Kutlu Tekin FUAD, CBE (Deceased)". Hkcfa.hk. Retrieved 2015-06-20.