My Take | Hong Kong cannot allow its system of foreign judges to wither and die
Such justices can still play an important part in the city’s future. The judiciary needs to make some big signings, however difficult that may be
And then there were five. The pool of eminent foreign judges sitting on Hong Kong’s top court, once of Olympic proportions, continues to evaporate. It is now little more than a puddle.
The latest judge to depart is Robert French, the former chief justice of Australia’s High Court. His resignation is a blow to the judiciary, casting further doubts on a system that has served the city well.
French, appointed as a part-time judge of the Court of Final Appeal in 2017, had previously stated he intended to stay. His withdrawal comes more than a year before the end of his contract.
The judge’s comments on his departure should prompt reflection in Hong Kong. The government has been quick to highlight French’s continued confidence in the independence and integrity of the top court’s remaining judges.
He also rejected the idea that the foreign justices are “somehow complicit in the application by the executive of national security laws or somehow confer on them a spurious legitimacy”. That view is often cited by critics of the judges overseas.
But French did not stop there. He also said the role of the part-time judges “has become increasingly anachronistic and arguably cosmetic”. That is an observation that should be taken seriously.
The dwindling of the number of foreign judges tells its own story. When Beijing passed a national security law for the city in 2020, there were 15 of them. The maximum allowed by law is 30. That gives an idea of the size of the talent pool envisaged. Five departed last year and now only five remain. Two of them were hired in 2023 and 2024. But the system is becoming difficult to sustain.