Any esteemed judge from a common law jurisdiction can be invited to join the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. This includes judges from Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Singapore.
As of January 2025, there are six overseas non-permanent judges. Lord David Neuberger and Lord Leonard Hoffmann from the United Kingdom, and James Allsop, Patrick Keane, William Gummow, and Robert French from Australia.
The evidence indicates that overseas non-permanent judges are actively contributing to the crackdown in Hong Kong. It is one thing to be a silent bystander to the politically motivated trials of pro-democracy activists, it is another to actively serve on these cases. Since the 2019-2020 Hong Kong democracy protests, several foreign judges have sat on the appeals of pro-democracy activists and voted to reinstate the convictions of peaceful protestors. This includes the 2024 appeal of Jimmy Lai in an unlawful assembly trial where Lord Neuberger voted to keep the 77-year old’s sentence for attending a peaceful protest, stating that his “crime” was proportional to an astonishing nine-month sentence.
January 10, 2025 – Lord Leonard Hoffmann, the longest-serving overseas judge on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (CFA), has
30 September 2024 – Lord Nicholas Phillips has stepped down from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal citing “personal
15 August 2024 – Today, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation (CFHK Foundation) learned that Lord David Neuberger
12 August 2024 – Today the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal unanimously dismissed the bid by seven pro-democracy figures including Jimmy
TOP NEWS National Post, a Canadian newspaper, reported that Beverley McLachlin renewed her appointment on the Singapore International Commercial Court
TOP NEWS Canada’s only judge on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, Beverley McLachlin, said that she will retire
TOP NEWS Lord Lawrence Collins of Mapesbury and Lord Jonathan Sumption have resigned their positions from the Hong Kong Court
6 June 2024 – Following an international campaign, Lord Lawrence Collins of Mapesbury and Lord Jonathan Sumption have resigned their
TOP NEWS The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation released a report authored by Alyssa Fong, Public Affairs
14 May 2024 – Today in the British Parliament, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation released a
Lending Prestige to Persecution.pdf Introduction On November 23, 2020, Lord David Neuberger of Abbotsbury joined human rights dignitaries of
2 November 2023 – Today, a bipartisan and bicameral group of lawmakers led by Congresswoman Young Kim (R-CA-40) introduced the
Committee News Former British Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption attended the opening of Hong Kong’s legal year. The CFHK Foundation’s