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Britain withdraws judges from Hong Kong's top court

2022-03-30T12:17:50.076Z


Since Hong Kong's return to China in 1997, British judges have sat on the SAR's Supreme Court. Now the country is recalling the lawyers - with reference to the increasing reprisals from Beijing.


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The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal

Photo: Kin Cheung/AP

"We see a systematic decline in freedom and democracy in Hong Kong": Great Britain recalls its judges from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong's highest court.

This was announced by British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in a statement.

Since the introduction of the so-called Chinese security law in 2020, freedom of expression and freedom of the press have been systematically suppressed.

"The situation has reached a tipping point where it is no longer tenable for British judges to be part of Hong Kong's premier court," Truss said.

Otherwise, you risk legitimizing the repression in China's special administrative region.

Affected are therefore Robert Reed, who is also chairman of the British Supreme Court, and the judge Patrick Hodge.

Britons see independent legislation restricted

From the British government's perspective, British judges have played an important role in Hong Kong's judicial system.

In recent years, however, China has significantly restricted the rights and freedoms of the seven million Hong Kongers as well as independent legislation and judiciary.

This contradicts the agreements that Beijing and London agreed to in their 1984 joint declaration on the return of the former British crown colony in 1997.

British judges should ensure the independence of the judiciary.

From the point of view of the British government, this has obviously failed.

The Supreme Court, the highest British court, has continuously reviewed the situation in cooperation with the British government and has come to the decision to withdraw the British judges, the statement said.

The withdrawal highlights how the rule of law in Hong Kong is being eroded.

He was long considered one of the reasons for the success of the city.

The court has the last word on the interpretation of judgments

Since the introduction of the so-called security law, the authorities in Hong Kong have been taking rigorous action against the opposition.

It allows the authorities, almost anything, to take draconian action against any activity they deem to threaten China's national security.

Since then, numerous leaders of the opposition have been arrested or have gone into exile, and independent and critical media have had to shut down their work.

The Supreme Court (Court of Final Appeal) in Hong Kong is responsible for the final interpretation and interpretation of court decisions and laws - albeit not the Basic Law that has been in force since 1997.

The institution consists of three permanent judges and up to 30 non-permanent judges from Hong Kong and also from other common law countries such as Great Britain, Australia or South Africa.

fek/dpa/Reuters

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-03-30

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