Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)

For the building, see Court of Final Appeal Building.

Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal
香港終審法院
The logo features the Court of Final Appeal Building
22°16′51″N 114°09′37″E
Established	1 July 1997 (1997-07-01)
Location	8 Jackson Road, Central, Hong Kong
Coordinates	22°16′51″N 114°09′37″E
Composition method	Appointment by the Chief Executive acting in accordance with the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission with Legislative Council endorsement
Authorized by	Hong Kong Basic Law Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance
Judge term length	Until retirement age of 70 for the Chief Justice and Permanent Judges, but this may be extended by two three-year terms, meaning retirement age can be extended to 76; no retirement age for non-permanent judges
Number of positions	One Chief Justice, at least three permanent judges and at most 30 non-permanent judges
Website	hkcfa.hk
Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal
Currently	Andrew Cheung
Since	11 January 2021

Court of Final Appeal
Traditional Chinese	香港終審法院
Simplified Chinese	香港终审法院
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xiānggǎng Zhōngshěnfǎ​yuàn Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Hēung góng jūng sám faat yuhn Jyutping Hoeng1 gong2 zung1 sam2 faat3 jyun6

The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA or CFA) is the final appellate court of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, upon the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, replacing the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the highest judicial institution under Hong Kong law. As defined in Articles 19 and 85 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, the Court of Final Appeal "exercises judicial power in the Region independently and free from any interference." The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance and the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Rules set out the detailed functions and procedures of the court.

The court meets in the Court of Final Appeal Building located in Central, Hong Kong.

Role of the court

From the 1840s to 30 June 1997, Hong Kong was a British Dependent Territory, and the power of final adjudication on the laws of Hong Kong was vested in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The power to exercise sovereignty over Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. Based on the one country, two systems principle, Hong Kong retains a high degree of autonomy and maintains its own legal system. The Court of Final Appeal was established on 1 July 1997 in Central, Hong Kong. Since then, it has served as the court of last resort; the court has the power of final adjudication with respect to the law of Hong Kong as well as the power of final interpretation over local laws including the power to strike down local ordinances on the grounds of inconsistency with the Basic Law.

Court structure

The Court of Final Appeal is made up of the Chief Justice, at least three Permanent Judges, and at most 30 Non-Permanent Judges who can come from Hong Kong or any overseas Common Law jurisdictions. Under the Basic Law, the constitutional document of Hong Kong, the special administrative region remains a common law jurisdiction. Judges from other common law jurisdictions can be recruited and serve in the judiciary as non-permanent judges according to Article 92 of the Basic Law; to date, Judges appointed have served in the judiciaries of England and Wales, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Aside from the Chief Justice, there is no nationality requirement for any of the permanent or non-permanent judges.

The Court of Final Appeal has no original jurisdiction; an appeal has to originate from the High Court (either from the Court of Appeal or the Court of First Instance).

Allowing an appeal

Whether an appeal is allowed or not is determined by a panel of three Hong Kong judges, usually the Chief Justice and two other permanent judges. Should the Chief Justice or a permanent judge not be available, the other permanent judge or a non-permanent judge from Hong Kong may be called in. Non-permanent judges from other jurisdictions do not sit on such panels.

There is also a Registrar attached to the Court of Final Appeal, to help with review of appeal applications and other administrative duties.

Hearing an appeal

All appeal cases are heard by a bench of five judges consisting of the Chief Justice, three permanent judges and a non-permanent judge from another common law jurisdiction. If the Chief Justice does not sit in an appeal, a permanent judge is designated to sit in the Chief Justice's place, and a non-permanent judge from Hong Kong will sit on the court as well. Similarly, if a permanent judge is unable to sit, a non-permanent Hong Kong judge will sit in place of that permanent judge. Technically, should a non-permanent judge from outside Hong Kong be unable to attend due to extraordinary circumstances (such as during the COVID-19 pandemic), two non-permanent Hong Kong judges may sit on the court or sit via video conferencing.

As the role of a non-permanent judge is not a full time role, a serving High Court judge may be appointed as a non-permanent judge concurrently, such as Vice-president Robert Tang and Vice-president Frank Stock, as they were then known. This is extended only to the most eminent and senior serving High Court justices.

Building

From its inception in July 1997 until September 2015, the court was located in the Former French Mission Building, in Central. In September 2015, the court relocated to the former (until 2011) Legislative Council Building, which was originally the colonial Supreme Court (1912–1985).

List of buildings used

• Former French Mission Building (1 July 1997 – 6 September 2015)
• Court of Final Appeal Building (since 7 September 2015)

Gallery

• 
  The Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong was housed in the Former French Mission Building until September 2015
• 
  Entrance of the Former French Mission Building
• 
  The Court of Final Appeal Building from Prince's Building
• 
  The Court of Final Appeal has been based at 8 Jackson Road since 7 Sept 2015; the building is the former home of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and the Supreme Court of Hong Kong
• 
  Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal building at night from Prince's Building
• 
  Plaque beside the entrance of the Court of Final Appeal

Current court

The Cheung Court

The Cheung Court began on 11 January 2021 (3 years and 185 days ago), when Andrew Cheung took over as the 3rd Chief Justice. Currently, 18 justices serve on the Cheung Court, including the Chief Justice, 3 Permanent Judges, and 14 non-permanent judges (10 of which are from other common law jurisdictions).

• The Hon. Chief Justice Andrew Cheung (since January 2021; first appointed Permanent Judge in October 2018)
• The Hon. Mr. Justice Roberto Ribeiro (since September 2000)
• The Hon. Mr. Justice Joseph Fok (since October 2013)
• The Hon. Mr. Justice Johnson Lam (since July 2021)

List of permanent judges

Chief Justices

No.	Name	Chinese name	Tenure start	Tenure end	Tenure length	Previous judicial office	Inner bar	Appointed by
1	Andrew Li Kwok-nang, GBM (Born 12 December 1948; age 75)	李國能	1 July 1997	31 August 2010	13 years and 62 days	None (Barrister–Queen's Counsel) (Concurrent Deputy High Court Judge)	QC (1988)	Tung Chee-hwa
2	Geoffrey Ma Tao-li, GBM (Born 11 January 1956; age 68)	馬道立	1 September 2010	10 January 2021	10 years and 132 days	Chief Judge of the High Court	QC (1993)	Donald Tsang
3	Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, GBM (Born 24 September 1961; age 62)	張舉能	11 January 2021	Incumbent	3 years and 185 days	Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal		Carrie Lam

Permanent Judges

No.	Name	Chinese name	Replacing	Tenure start	Tenure end	Tenure length	Previous judicial office	Inner bar	Appointed by
1	Henry Denis Litton, GBM (Born 7 August 1934; age 89)	烈顯倫	Inaugural	1 July 1997	13 September 2000	3 years and 75 days	Vice President of the Court of Appeal	QC (1970)	Tung Chee-hwa
2	Charles Arthur Ching, GBM (7 October 1935 – 30 November 2000; aged 65)	沈澄	Inaugural	1 July 1997	6 October 2000	3 years and 98 days	Justice of Appeal	QC (1974)
3	Syed Kemal Shah Bokhary, GBM (Born 25 October 1947; age 76)	包致金	Inaugural	1 July 1997	24 October 2012	15 years and 116 days	Justice of Appeal	QC (1983)
4	Patrick Chan Siu-oi, GBM (Born 21 October 1948; age 75)	陳兆愷	Litton	1 September 2000	20 October 2013	13 years and 50 days	Chief Judge of the High Court
5	Roberto Alexandre Vieira Ribeiro, GBM (Born 20 March 1949; age 75)	李義	Ching	1 September 2000	Incumbent	23 years and 317 days	Justice of Appeal	QC (1990)
6	Robert Tang Kwok-ching, GBM, SBS (Born 7 January 1947; age 77)	鄧國楨	Bokhary	25 October 2012	24 October 2018	6 years and 0 days	Vice President of the Court of Appeal (Concurrent Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal)	QC (1986)	Leung Chun-ying
7	Joseph Paul Fok (Born 24 September 1962; age 61)	霍兆剛	Chan	21 October 2013	Incumbent	10 years and 267 days	Justice of Appeal	SC (1999)
8	Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, GBM (Born 24 September 1961; age 62)	張舉能	Tang	25 October 2018	10 January 2021	2 years and 78 days	Chief Judge of the High Court		Carrie Lam
9	Johnson Lam Man-hon (Born August 1961; age 62)	林文瀚	Cheung	30 July 2021	Incumbent	2 years and 350 days	Vice President of the Court of Appeal

List of non-permanent judges

Current non-permanent judges from Hong Kong

No.	Name	Chinese name	Took office	Tenure length	Previous judicial offices	Inner bar	Appointed by
1	Frank Stock, GBS (Born 15 June 1945; age 79)	司徒敬	1 September 2010	13 years and 317 days	Deputy High Court Judge (1991) Judge of the High Court of Justice/Court of First Instance (1992–2000) Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (2000–09) Vice-president of the Court of Appeal (2009–14)	QC (1985)	Donald Tsang
2	Syed Kemal Shah Bokhary, GBM (Born 25 October 1947; age 76)	包致金	25 October 2012	11 years and 263 days	Judge of the High Court of Justice (1989–93) Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (1993–97) Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal (1997–2012)	QC (1983)	Leung Chun-ying
3	Patrick Chan Siu-oi, GBM (Born 21 October 1948; age 75)	陳兆愷	21 October 2013	10 years and 267 days	Judge of the District Court (1987–91) Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court (1991–92) Judge of the High Court of Justice (1992–97) Chief Judge of the High Court (1997–2000) Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal (2000–13)
4	Robert Tang Kwok-ching, GBM, SBS (Born 7 January 1947; age 77)	鄧國楨	25 October 2018	5 years and 263 days	Deputy District Judge (1982) Deputy High Court Judge (1986) Recorder of the High Court of Justice/Court of First Instance (1995–2004) Judge of the Court of First Instance (2004–05) Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (2005–06) Vice-president of the Court of Appeal (2006–12) Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal (2010–12) Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal (2012–18)	QC (1986)	Carrie Lam

Current non-permanent judges from other common law jurisdictions

No.	Jurisdiction	Name	Chinese name	Took office	Tenure length	Prior most senior judicial role	Inner bar	Appointed by
1	United Kingdom	Lord Hoffmann	賀輔明勳爵	12 January 1998	26 years and 184 days	Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1995–2009)	QC (1977)	Tung Chee-hwa
2	Australia	Anthony Murray Gleeson	紀立信	1 March 2009	15 years and 135 days	Chief Justice of Australia (1998–2008)	QC (1974)	Donald Tsang
3	United Kingdom	Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe	華學佳勳爵	1 March 2009	15 years and 135 days	Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2009–13)	QC (1982)
4	United Kingdom	Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury	廖柏嘉勳爵	1 March 2009	15 years and 135 days	President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2012–17)	QC (1987)
5	United Kingdom	Lord Collins of Mapesbury	郝廉思勳爵	30 June 2011	13 years and 14 days	Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2009–11)	QC (1997)
6	United Kingdom	Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers	范理申勳爵	1 October 2012	11 years and 287 days	President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2009–12)	QC (1978)	Leung Chun-ying
7	Australia	William Montague Charles Gummow	甘慕賢	29 July 2013	10 years and 351 days	Justice of the High Court of Australia (1995–2012)	QC (1986)
8	Australia	Robert Shenton French	范禮全	31 May 2017	7 years and 44 days	Chief Justice of Australia (2008–17)
9	Canada	Beverley Marian McLachlin	麥嘉琳	30 July 2018	5 years and 350 days	Chief Justice of Canada (2000–17)		Carrie Lam
10	United Kingdom	Lord Sumption	岑耀信勳爵	18 December 2019	4 years and 209 days	Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2012–18)	QC (1986)

Former non-permanent judges from Hong Kong

No.	Name	Chinese name	Took office	Left office	Tenure length	Prior most senior local judicial role	Inner bar	Notes	Appointed by
1	Sir Denys Tudor Emil Roberts, KBE	羅弼時爵士	28 July 1997	27 July 2003	6 years and 0 days	Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1979–88)	QC (1964)	Inaugural justice	Tung Chee-hwa
2	Sir Alan Armstrong Huggins	赫健士爵士	28 July 1997	27 July 2003	6 years and 0 days	Vice-president of the Court of Appeal (1980–87)		Inaugural justice
3	Sir Derek Cons	康士爵士	28 July 1997	27 July 2006	9 years and 0 days	Vice-president of the Court of Appeal (1986–93)		Inaugural justice
4	William James Silke	邵祺	28 July 1997	27 July 2009	12 years and 0 days	Vice-president of the Court of Appeal (1987–94)		Inaugural justice
5	Kutlu Tekin Fuad	傅雅德	28 July 1997	27 July 2009	12 years and 0 days	Vice-president of the Court of Appeal (1988–93)		Inaugural justice
6	Gerald Paul Nazareth, GBS	黎守律	28 July 1997	27 July 2012	15 years and 0 days	Vice-president of the Court of Appeal (1994–2000)	QC (1981)	Inaugural justice
7	John Barry Mortimer, GBS	馬天敏	28 July 1997	27 July 2015	18 years and 0 days	Vice-president of the Court of Appeal (1997–99)	QC (1971)	Inaugural justice
8	Sir Noel Plunkett Power, GBS	鮑偉華爵士	28 July 1997	19 November 2009	12 years and 115 days	Vice-president of the Court of Appeal (1997–99)		Inaugural justice; died in office
9	Art Michael McMullin	麥慕年	28 July 1997	27 July 2003	6 years and 0 days	Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (1979–86)		Inaugural justice
10	Philip Gerard Clough	郭樂富	28 July 1997	27 July 2006	9 years and 0 days	Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (1986–92)		Inaugural justice
11	Neil Macdougall	麥德高	28 July 1997	27 July 2003	6 years and 0 days	Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (1993–95)		Inaugural justice
12	Henry Denis Litton, GBM	烈顯倫	14 September 2000	13 September 2015	15 years and 0 days	Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal (1997–2000)	QC (1970)
13	Charles Arthur Ching, GBM	沈澄	7 October 2000	30 November 2000	55 days	Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal (1997–2000)	QC (1974)	Died in office
14	Robert Tang Kwok-ching, GBM, SBS	鄧國楨	1 September 2010	24 October 2012	2 years and 54 days	Vice-president of the Court of Appeal (2006–12)	QC (1986)	Appointed Permanent Judge	Donald Tsang
15	Michael John Hartmann, GBS	夏正民	1 September 2010	31 August 2016	6 years and 0 days	Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (2008–12)

Former non-permanent judges from other common law jurisdictions

No.	Jurisdiction	Name	Chinese name	Took office	Left office	Tenure length	Prior most senior judicial role	Inner bar	Notes	Appointed by
1	New Zealand United Kingdom	Lord Cooke of Thorndon	顧安國勳爵	28 July 1997	27 July 2006	9 years and 0 days	Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1996–2001)	QC (1964)	Inaugural justice	Tung Chee-hwa
2	Australia	Sir Anthony Frank Mason, GBM	梅師賢爵士	28 July 1997	27 July 2015	18 years and 0 days	Chief Justice of Australia (1987–95)	QC (1964)	Inaugural justice
3	New Zealand	Sir Edward Jonathan Somers	沈穆善爵士	28 July 1997	3 June 2002	4 years and 311 days	Judge of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand (1981–90)	QC (1973)	Inaugural justice; died in office
4	Australia	Sir Daryl Michael Dawson	杜偉舜爵士	1 September 1997	31 August 2003	6 years and 0 days	Justice of the High Court of Australia (1982–97)	QC (1971)
5	United Kingdom	Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead	李啟新勳爵	12 January 1998	11 January 2004	6 years and 0 days	Second Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2002–07)	QC (1974)
6	Australia	Sir Francis Gerard Brennan, GBS	布仁立爵士	28 July 2000	27 July 2012	12 years and 0 days	Chief Justice of Australia (1995–98)	QC (1965)
7	United Kingdom	Lord Millett, GBS	苗禮治勳爵	28 July 2000	27 May 2021	20 years and 304 days	Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1998–2004)	QC (1974)	Died in office
8	New Zealand	Sir Johann Thomas Eichelbaum	艾俊彬爵士	28 July 2000	27 July 2012	12 years and 0 days	Chief Justice of New Zealand (1989–99)	QC (1978)
9	United Kingdom	Lord Scott of Foscote	施廣智勳爵	28 July 2003	27 July 2012	9 years and 0 days	Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2000–09)	QC (1975)
10	United Kingdom	Lord Woolf, GBS	伍爾夫勳爵	28 July 2003	27 July 2012	9 years and 0 days	Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (2000–05)
11	New Zealand	Sir Ivor Lloyd Morgan Richardson	韋卓善爵士	28 July 2003	27 July 2009	6 years and 0 days	President of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand (1996–2002)
12	Australia	Michael Hudson McHugh	馬曉義	1 July 2006	30 June 2012	6 years and 0 days	Justice of the High Court of Australia (1989–2005)	QC (1973)		Donald Tsang
13	New Zealand	Sir Thomas Munro Gault, KNZM	高禮哲爵士	1 July 2006	19 May 2015	8 years and 323 days	Justice of the Supreme Court of New Zealand (2004–06)	QC (1984)	Died in office
14	United Kingdom	Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony	簡嘉麒勳爵	30 June 2011	29 June 2020	9 years and 0 days	Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2009–17)	QC (1979)
15	Australia	James Jacob Spigelman, AC	施覺民	29 July 2013	2 September 2020	7 years and 36 days	Chief Justice of New South Wales (1998–2011)	QC (1986)	Resigned mid-term	Leung Chun-ying
16	United Kingdom	Lord Reed of Allermuir	韋彥德勳爵	31 May 2017	30 March 2022	4 years and 304 days	President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2020–)	QC (1995)	Resigned mid-term
17	United Kingdom	Baroness Hale of Richmond	何熙怡女男爵	30 July 2018	29 July 2021	3 years and 0 days	President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2017–20)	QC (1989)		Carrie Lam
18	United Kingdom	Lord Hodge	賀知義勳爵	1 January 2021	30 March 2022	1 year and 89 days	Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2020–)	QC (1996)	Resigned mid-term

Controversies

Article 158 interpretation

The controversial power of final interpretation of "national" law including the Basic Law is vested in the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China (NPCSC) by virtue of Article 158 of the Basic Law and by the Constitution of the PRC; however, "national" laws which are not explicitly listed in Annex III of the Basic Law are not operative in Hong Kong.

Article 158 delegates such power to the courts of Hong Kong for interpretation while handling court cases. Although this arrangement has attracted criticism of "undermining judicial independence", an interpretation by the NPCSC does not affect any court judgments already rendered. This practice is highly controversial as it contradicts the power of final adjudication; the first time an interpretation occurred in 1999, all five judges (including the Chief Justice, all three permanent justices and one non-permanent justice) involved in the case of Ng Ka Ling v Director of Immigration reportedly considered quitting the top court in protest.

Instances of Article 158 interpretations are as follows:

• 1999: Right of abode in Hong Kong
• 2004: Modifying the process of electoral reforms regarding the election of the Hong Kong Chief Executive (Basic Law Article 45 and 2005 Hong Kong Chief Executive election)
• 2005: Dealing with an incomplete term of a Chief Executive
• 2011: State immunity and the jurisdiction of Hong Kong courts
• 2016: Legislative Council oath-taking controversy
• 2022: Participation of overseas solicitors and barristers in national security law cases

Kemal Bokhary replacement

In 2012, Permanent Judge Kemal Bokhary - known as a leading liberal and dissenting voice on the Court - did not have his tenure extended past the mandated retirement age of 65. His replacement, however, was 65-year old Robert Tang, who was even older than Bokhary but was seen as more conservative.

China's National Security Law

Resignation of non-permanent judges

No non-permanent judge from overseas jurisdictions had ever quit the Court mid-term before the enactment of the National Security Law. In September 2020, then-non-permanent judge James Spigelman resigned in response to China's controversial National Security Law being imposed on Hong Kong, but Spigelman did not elaborate further. In March 2022, both Lord Reed and Lord Hodge resigned as non-permanent judges, citing the National Security Law leading to the judges being unable to "continue to sit in Hong Kong without appearing to endorse an administration which has departed from values of political freedom, and freedom of expression, to which the Justices of the Supreme Court are deeply committed."

In November 2022, Lady Hale - who had refused to renew her tenure on the Court in 2020 - suggested that British judges should leave the CFA.

Maria Yuen nomination saga

In June 2021, Justice Maria Yuen was recommended for appointment as a permanent judge by the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission. However the promotion was rejected by pro-Beijing legislators, in an unprecedented breach of the norms of an independent legal system. The legislators, who by protocol accept the recommendations of the commission, claimed that she might be influenced by her husband, former Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma, whose defence of Hong Kong's judicial independence they considered unpatriotic.

See also

• Law of Hong Kong
• Judiciary of Hong Kong
• Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal
• Permanent Judges of the Court of Final Appeal
• High Court (Hong Kong)
• Chief Judge of the High Court of Hong Kong
• Supreme Court (Hong Kong)

External links

• Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal