Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-Chiu confirmed Tuesday that the system of having overseas judges sit on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA) will continue unchanged. The maintenance of the system became controversial after former UK Supreme Court justice Lord Sumption resigned from the HKCFA and published his criticisms in the Financial Times.

In the press briefing, Lee reaffirmed that Hong Kong’s legal system will not be changed due to the personal stances of individual judges. Lee also reiterated that Hong Kong’s commitment to the rule of law is unaffected by the personal beliefs of a single judge and that the current eight overseas Non-Permanent Judges (NPJ) still place confidence in the rule of law in Hong Kong and local judges to exercise their power free from interference.

In an interview with local media RTHK, the Secretary for Justice Paul Lam similarly said that the participation of overseas judges can enhance the internationalization of the legal environment in Hong Kong. However, Lam also held the view that the lack of overseas judges would not be critical to the rule of law in Hong Kong as overseas judges only sit on the HKCFA and most cases have been handled by local judges.

On June 11, Lord Sumption warned that Hong Kong was starting to resemble a “totalitarian state,” whereby he found that the freedom of judges had been “severely limited” and that the recent subversion-related national security judgment was “legally indefensible”. In summary, Lord Sumption believed the Hong Kong judiciary had to operate in an “impossible political environment created by China.” Lord Collins also cited the “political situation” in Hong Kong as the motivation for his resignation, but he also stated that, “I continue to have the fullest confidence in the court and the total independence of its members.”

In response to Lord Sumption’s critical op-ed on the state of Hong Kong’s rule of law, the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong called Lord Sumption’s comments “slanderous” and accused Lord Sumption of aiding “attempts in cahoots with external forces to pressure judges.” The Hong Kong government also issued a press release that deemed Lord Sumption’s comments as “utterly wrong, totally baseless, and must be righteously refuted.” In response to Lord Sumption’s claim that political pressure was exerted on the judiciary and that Hong Kong’s rule of law was in decline, the press release deemed these allegations to have “absolutely no truth.”

The resignations of Lord Sumption and Lord Collins are part of a withdrawal of UK judges from the CFA. In March 2022, Lord Reed and Lord Hodge both tendered their resignations after their belief that Hong Kong “departed from the values of political freedom, and freedom of expression.”

In a policy paper written by HKCFA justice Joseph Fok, the rationale for having overseas judges sit on the Hong Kong CFA exists to inject judicial experience, diversify expertise and international-mindedness into the CFA, as well as act as a demonstration of confidence in the independence of Hong Kong’s judiciary.