Two British Judges Resign from Hong Kong's Top Court Amid Political Tension - 2024-06-07

Two former UK judges resigned from Hong Kong 's top court as the city continues a national security crackdown that has silenced dissent in the former British colony.

Lord Jonathan Sumption and Lord Lawrence Collins , who were former judges on the UK Supreme Court, tendered their resignations to the leader of the once-freewheeling Chinese territory, the city's government said in a statement late Thursday night.

Collins, who began serving as a non-permanent judge on Hong Kong 's highest court in 2011, cited political reasons for his resignation in what is likely to be seen as a blow to the reputation of the city's vaunted judiciary.

"I have resigned from the Court of Final Appeal because of the political situation in Hong Kong ," Collins said in a statement. He added that he continued to have the "fullest confidence" in the court and the independence of its members.

Sumption confirmed he had resigned from the court in a separate message to Bloomberg News , saying that he would make a statement next week. The Financial Times reported the departures earlier.

The chief justice of the court, Andrew Cheung, said in a statement that the court "notes with regret" the resignations. He also said that the judiciary remains committed to upholding the rule of law and judicial independence, and that overseas candidates will continue to be appointed to the court.

A Common Law jurisdiction, Hong Kong 's appointment of prominent overseas judges to its top court is a feature that testifies to its judicial independence, the government has said. The city returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under Beijing 's promise that it would retain its wide-ranging freedoms and independent judiciary, which remains a key appeal of the city to global businesses and investors.

The two judges' decisions to leave the Hong Kong court followed the departures of UK Supreme Court justices Robert Reed and Patrick Hodge in 2022, who had cited Beijing 's imposition of a national security law on the territory.

"We have seen a systematic erosion of liberty and democracy in Hong Kong ," then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement at the time. "The situation has reached a tipping point where it is no longer tenable for British judges to sit on Hong Kong 's leading court, and would risk legitimizing oppression."