Hong Kong’s top court is losing another judge from overseas.
Beverly McLachlin, a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, on Monday became the third overseas judge in recent days to announce a resignation from the country’s Court of Final Appeal.
Jonathan Sumption and Lawrence Collins, former justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, announced their resignations last week.
Sumption wrote in an opinion piece published Monday in the Financial Times that “Hong Kong, once a vibrant and politically diverse community, is slowly becoming a totalitarian state.”
He wrote that the rule of law is in “grave danger” and that judges are caught “in an impossible political environment created by China.” He said in the Financial Times that because of Hong Kong’s political climate, it is “no longer realistic” for overseas judges to remain on the court.
“Intimidated or convinced by the darkening political mood, many judges have lost sight of their traditional role as defenders of the liberty of the subject,” Sumption wrote.
Hong Kong is a former British colony. Judges from common law jurisdictions serve as nonpermanent members at Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal, which is not under the jurisdiction of mainland China.
However, mainland China enacted a national security law in 2020 in Hong Kong that rights groups and critics say has eroded Hong Kong’s judicial independence and has also terminated public protest. Several protesters and activists have been arrested under the law.
John Lee, Hong Kong’s city leader, told Agence France-Presse recently that the overseas judges’ appointments “help maintain a high degree of confidence in [Hong Kong’s] judicial system.” He said their appointments to the court help Hong Kong maintain strong ties with common law jurisdiction.
Seven overseas judges remain on the court.
McLachlin said Monday, “I continue to have confidence in the members of the court, their independence, and their determination to uphold the rule of law.”
