Panel departure of UK judge serving in Hong Kong ‘may reflect pressure from critics’

David Neuberger steps down from role as chairman of independent advisory body of Media Freedom Coalition

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David Neuberger (red tie) cited unspecified “concerns” about his concurrent position as a non-permanent judge at Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal in explaining his departure from the panel. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 10:52pm, 16 Aug 2024Updated: 11:26pm, 16 Aug 2024

The recent departure of a British judge sitting on Hong Kong’s top court from an advisory board of an international media freedom group might reflect that foreign judicial figures in the city are facing mounting pressure from critics, a scholar has said.

David Neuberger has stepped down from his role as chairman of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom, an independent advisory body of the Media Freedom Coalition, a role he held for nearly five years.

In a statement made on Wednesday, Neuberger cited unspecified “concerns” about his concurrent position as a non-permanent judge at Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal.

“I have now concluded that I should go now, because it is undesirable that focus on my position as a non-permanent judge in Hong Kong should take away, or distract, from the critical and impactful work of the High Level Panel,” he said.

He is one of five justices who presided over the case of jailed former media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and six former opposition lawmakers convicted of participating in an illegal march during the 2019 anti-government protests.

Michael Davis, a former law professor at the University of Hong Kong, said he believed that Neuberger had faced great pressure in Britain and from overseas human rights activists.