The President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Mr. Janet Wade, said at the annual hearing of the House of Lords Constitution Committee on Wednesday (17) that he would not serve as a judge in Hong Kong or nominate any judge to Hong Kong if the independence of the judiciary was compromised, the courts violated the rule of law or judges could not serve in good conscience.
Mr. Weyand is currently an overseas non-permanent judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. There are currently 10 British non-permanent judges on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.
But Weyand stressed that to decide whether the situation in Hong Kong has reached the point where he cannot continue to serve in Hong Kong, he needs to handle it very carefully, describing it as a very serious step. He revealed that he will meet again shortly with British Foreign Secretary Lan Taowen and Justice Bai Le Bin to examine the arrangements for sending judges to Hong Kong in light of the current developments in Hong Kong, stressing that he will not let the reputation of the British Supreme Court be tarnished.
The British newspaper The Times published an article on Monday, saying that Hong Kong’s judicial system has “collapsed” (compromised system), the article called for the resignation of British judges in general, should not continue to provide legitimacy for the Hong Kong judicial system.
In Hong Kong, Secretary for Justice Eva Cheng responded on Friday that Hong Kong’s judicial independence is based on a solid system stipulated in the Basic Law, that is, judges enjoy tenure and protection from legal action, there is no revolving door system, judges must be in accordance with the judicial oath, with no fear and no bias spirit to uphold the rule of law, presiding over justice.
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