Hong Kong, Beijing condemn UK withdrawal of judges from city’s top court over security law concern

UK Supreme Court president Lord Robert Reed and vice-president Lord Patrick Hodge resigned from Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal on March 30, 2022, with immediate effect. A statement issued by Britain’s top judicial body cited concerns over national security legislation imposed on Hong Kong by mainland Chinese authorities as a reason for withdrawal of the judges. Their resignations ended a long-standing arrangement, which had stood as a strong endorsement of the city’s rule of law. Hong Kong government officials and top legal bodies have decried the UK move as putting politics before the law. British judges have sat on the court since Britain returned the former colony to China in 1997. The pair were the last two UK judges serving in Hong Kong’s highest court.