SCMP Editorial

Editorial | Hong Kong’s new chief justice deserves society’s full support

With the judiciary facing fire on multiple fronts, Mr Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung has put accountability and reform near the top of his agenda

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Andrew Cheung, Hong Kong’s new chief justice, takes questions from the media after he officially opened the 2021 judicial year. Photo: Felix Wong

SCMP Editorial

Published: 9:52pm, 12 Jan 2021Updated: 10:14pm, 12 Jan 2021

The opening of the new legal year lacked some of its traditional pomp and ceremony. The event on Monday was scaled back and streamed online to guard against Covid-19, but the significance of the occasion for Hong Kong should not be lost on the community. This year, it saw a new chief justice take charge, the first change of leadership for a decade. Mr Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung steps up at a most challenging time. In his maiden speech, the veteran judge underlined the importance of upholding Hong Kong’s judicial independence and impartiality. Support for this fundamental element of the city’s rule of law was also voiced in speeches by the secretary for justice, Bar Association chairman and Law Society president. It cannot be stressed enough.

Judges have faced extreme criticism and even threats from those unhappy with their decisions amid the city’s political divisions. Cheung used his speech to defend the fundamental principles of the rule of law. Rights and freedoms must be “jealously protected”, he said. The chief justice warned that unfounded allegations against judges risked undermining public confidence in the judiciary.

But he also made it clear the judiciary was accountable and not above criticism. Cheung said he intended to speed up the hearing of important cases and those attracting wide public attention, including appeals. This is intended to enable the higher courts to quickly clarify the law and provide consistency, perhaps in the form of sentencing guidelines. He also warned judges to take care to ensure the words they used in court did not create a perception of bias and promised to review the mechanism for complaints against them. The chief justice emphasised the need for the judiciary to be professional, efficient and to move with the times. He highlighted the importance of training and ongoing efforts to digitise legal procedures.

These comments should offer some reassurance to those pressing for judicial reform. The judiciary is open to change, but any reforms should be led by the chief justice and must uphold judicial independence. There are also other challenges. The courts are facing waves of hearings related to the civil unrest of 2019, a rise in immigration cases and the impact of the pandemic. The judiciary is also having difficulty recruiting high-quality lawyers to its ranks.

Society must understand the importance of the role of the chief justice and support him. The rule of law is one of the foundations on which Hong Kong is built, and responsibility for maintaining it lies not only with judges, but also with the Department of Justice, police, the legal profession and the wider community. Cheung spoke of hope and guarded optimism about overcoming the pandemic. The same might apply to the judiciary as it begins a new chapter.