Britain Considers Removing British Judges from Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal, Dissatisfied with China’s Repeated Breach of Joint Statement

The British government is considering whether to withdraw British judges from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal because of China’s repeated breaches of its international obligations on Hong Kong affairs, Foreign Secretary Tony Raab said Monday (Nov. 23, 2020).

In a foreword to the Foreign Office’s half-yearly report to parliament on Hong Kong affairs, Raab accused Beijing of repeatedly violating the Sino-British Joint Declaration by imposing Hong Kong’s national security law and disqualifying 12 pro-democracy lawmakers, saying the current period is the most worrisome since the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong. He said he had begun discussions with British Supreme Court President Reid on when a review should be conducted on the appropriateness of allowing British judges to remain as non-permanent judges of Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal.

Under the Basic Law, the HKSAR government appoints foreign judges to serve as non-permanent judges on the Court of Final Appeal in the hope of preserving Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center after the transfer of sovereignty to China. There are currently about 13 foreign judges serving as non-permanent judges in the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong, nine of whom are British judges.

It is believed that Hong Kong’s judicial independence and its status as an international financial center would be undermined if Britain withdrew its British judges from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor rejected criticism from London on Tuesday in response to the British government’s release of its half-yearly report on Hong Kong affairs, saying Britain has a comprehensive set of laws to safeguard national security, but blames the enactment and implementation of Hong Kong’s national security laws. She added that in Britain, anyone who refuses to pledge allegiance to the Queen cannot serve as a legislator, but the British government has accused the SAR government of disqualifying those who have not pledged allegiance to the country from the Legislative Council.

The Chinese Foreign Office in Hong Kong also expressed strong opposition to the British report and told the British side to “stop dreaming of interfering in the affairs of Hong Kong in the old colonial dream.