BREAKING: Two UK judges quit Hong Kong’s top court, as Lord Collins cites ‘political situation’
Hong Kong Free Press
British judges Lord Jonathan Sumption, 75, and Lord Lawrence Collins, 83, have resigned from Hong Kong’s top court, with the latter citing the “political situation.”
A legal source, who did not wish to be named, confirmed a report by the Financial Times on Thursday evening.
“I have resigned from the Court of Final Appeal because of the political situation in Hong Kong, but I continue to have the fullest confidence in the court and the total independence of its members,” Collins said, according to legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg.
News of the resignations comes four days after an investigation by The Independent revealed that British judges were paid £40,000 (HK$399,225) per month to sit on the top court, with flights, accommodation and travel also expensed.
The presence of international judges has historically given credibility to Hong Kong’s common law legal tradition. The news comes after Lord Robert Reed and Lord Patrick Hodge resigned from the Court of Final Appeal in March 2022.
It leaves just four British judges sitting on the top court.
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