Lending Prestige to Persecution

This report makes the case for why the overseas NPJs should resign. These judges purport to be committed to constitutionalism and human rights, but as Hong Kong’s authoritarian regime and court system have systematically infringed on the rights of Hongkongers in recent years, they are now merely lending their and their nations’ reputations to legitimise the crackdown.

Based on the findings in this report, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation recommends:

1. The remaining overseas NPJs should step down from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal due to the severe erosion of human rights, judicial independence, and rule of law in Hong Kong. They would be following in the footsteps of their three colleagues who stepped down in 2022 due to concerns that their presence on the court was legitimising Hong Kong’s authoritarian regime.

2. The governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand should actively discourage their citizens from taking positions on the Hong Kong courts. Any citizens who do take positions on these courts should be restricted from serving in public positions and commissions in their home countries due to the potential for conflicts of interest.

3. In line with the House of Lords’ existing Code of Conduct, judges who are members of the House of Lords should declare their financial interests from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal including specified salary ranges. Peers who fail properly to declare their interest as required by the current Code should be subject to parliamentary sanctions.

4. The House of Lords should also revise its Code of Conduct to require its members who take a leave of absence to continue to register all foreign government financial interests with the specified salary ranges.