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	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	Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal
Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal
Currently	Geoffrey Ma
Since	1 September 2010

Court of Final Appeal
Traditional Chinese	香港終審法院
Transcriptions Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Hēung góng jūng sám faat yuhn Jyutping Hoeng1 gong2 zung1 sam2 faat3 jyun6

Main article: Judiciary of Hong Kong

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 the Basic Law of Hong Kong, the Court of Final Appeal is constitutionally allowed to exercise its judicial powers free from interference. The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance and the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Rules set out the functions and procedures of the court.

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 its 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 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). 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. Judges appointed pursuant to Article 92 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.

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 2019 coronavirus epidemic), 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 Tang and Vice President Stock, as they were then known. This only occurs when the Court is low on non-permanent judges from Hong Kong, and is extended only to the most eminent and senior serving High Court justices.

Article 158 Interpretation Controversy

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 reportedly considered quitting the top court in protest.

Instances of Article 158 interpretations are as follows:

• 1999: Right of abode in Hong Kong
• 2004: Adding two rules to the process of electoral reforms regarding the election of the Hong Kong Chief Executive (Basic Law Article 45)
• 2005: Dealing with an unfinished term of a Chief Executive upon resignation
• 2012: State immunity and the jurisdiction of Hong Kong courts
• 2016: Legislative Council oath-taking controversy

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).

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

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 seen from Chater Road before its renovation
• 
  The Court of Final Appeal is currently housed in 8 Jackson Road, former home of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, since 7 Sept 2015
• 
  Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal building at night from Prince's Building
• 
  Plaque beside the entrance of the Court of Final Appeal

List of Permanent Judges

Chief Justices

No.	Name	Chinese name	Took office	Left office	Tenure length	Silk
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	QC (1988)
2	Geoffrey Ma Tao-li, GBM (Born 11 January 1956; age 68)	馬道立	1 September 2010	Incumbent	13 years and 256 days	QC (1993)

Permanent Judges

No.	Name	Chinese name	Replacing	Took office	Left office	Tenure length	Silk
1	Henry Denis Litton, GBM (Born 7 August 1934; age 89)	烈顯倫	Founding Justice	1 July 1997	14 September 2000	3 years and 76 days	QC (1970)
2	Charles Arthur Ching, GBM (7 October 1935 – 30 November 2000; aged 65)	沈澄			6 October 2000	3 years and 98 days	QC (1974)
3	Syed Kemal Shah Bokhary, GBM (Born 25 October 1947; age 76)	包致金			24 October 2012	15 years and 116 days	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
5	Roberto Alexandre Vieira Ribeiro (Born 20 March 1949; age 75)	李義	Ching	1 September 2000	Incumbent	23 years and 256 days	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	QC (1986)
7	Joseph Paul Fok (Born 24 September 1962; age 61)	霍兆剛	Chan	21 October 2013	Incumbent	10 years and 206 days	SC (1999)
8	Andrew Cheung Kui-nung (Born 24 September 1961; age 62)	張舉能	Tang	25 October 2018	Incumbent	5 years and 202 days

The following appointments have been made by the Chief Executive, based on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC), and either pending approval of the Legislative Council (LegCo) or awaiting effective date:

• Andrew Cheung replacing Geoffrey Ma as Chief Justice (11 January 2021)
• TBD replacing Andrew Cheung as Permanent Judge (11 January 2021); pending recommendation from the JORC
• TBD replacing Roberto Ribeiro as Permanent Judge (20 March 2021); pending recommendation from the JORC

List of Non-Permanent Judges

Current Non-Permanent Judges from Hong Kong

No.	Name	Chinese name	Appointed by	Took office	Tenure length	Previous judicial offices
1	Frank Stock, GBS	司徒敬	Donald Tsang	1 September 2010	13 years and 256 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)
2	Syed Kemal Shah Bokhary, GBM	包致金	Leung Chun-ying	25 October 2012	11 years and 202 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)
3	Patrick Chan Siu-oi, GBM	陳兆愷		21 October 2013	10 years and 206 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	鄧國楨	Carrie Lam	25 October 2018	5 years and 202 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)

Current Non-Permanent Judges from Other Common Law Jurisdictions

No.	Jurisdiction	Name	Chinese name	Appointed by	Took office	Tenure length	Prior most senior judicial role
1	United Kingdom	Lord Hoffmann, GBS	賀輔明勳爵	Tung Chee-hwa	12 January 1998	26 years and 123 days	Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1995–2009)
2	United Kingdom	Lord Millett, GBM	苗禮治勳爵		28 July 2000	23 years and 291 days	Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1998–2004)
3	Australia	Anthony Murray Gleeson	紀立信	Donald Tsang	1 March 2009	15 years and 74 days	Chief Justice of Australia (1998–2008)
4	United Kingdom	Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe, GBS	華學佳勳爵		1 March 2009	15 years and 74 days	Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2009–2013)
5	United Kingdom	Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, GBS	廖柏嘉勳爵		1 March 2009	15 years and 74 days	President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2012–2017)
6	United Kingdom	Lord Collins of Mapesbury	郝廉思勳爵		30 June 2011	12 years and 319 days	Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2009–2011)
7	United Kingdom	Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers	范理申勳爵	Leung Chun-ying	1 October 2012	11 years and 226 days	President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2009–2012)
8	Australia	James Jacob Spigelman	施覺民		29 July 2013	10 years and 290 days	Chief Justice of New South Wales (1998–2011)
9	Australia	William Montague Charles Gummow	甘慕賢		29 July 2013	10 years and 290 days	Justice of the High Court of Australia (1995–2012)
10	Australia	Robert Shenton French	范禮全		31 May 2017	6 years and 349 days	Chief Justice of Australia (2008–2017)
11	United Kingdom	Lord Reed of Allermuir	韋彥德勳爵		31 May 2017	6 years and 349 days	President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2020–)
12	United Kingdom	Baroness Hale of Richmond	何熙怡女男爵	Carrie Lam	30 July 2018	5 years and 289 days	President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2017–2020)
13	Canada	Beverley Marian McLachlin	麥嘉琳		30 July 2018	5 years and 289 days	Chief Justice of Canada (2000–2017)
14	United Kingdom	Lord Sumption	岑耀信勳爵		18 December 2019	4 years and 148 days	Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2012–2018)

Former Non-Permanent Judges from Hong Kong

No.	Name	Chinese name	Took office	Left office	Tenure length	Prior most senior local judicial role
1	Sir Denys Tudor Emil Roberts, KBE	羅弼時爵士fo	28 July 1997 (Founding NPJ's)	27 July 2003	6 years and 0 days	Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1979–88)
2	Sir Alan Armstrong Huggins	赫健士爵士		27 July 2003	6 years and 0 days	Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (1980–87)
3	Neil Macdougall	麥德高		27 July 2003	6 years and 0 days	Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (1993–95)
4	Art Michael McMullin	麥慕年		27 July 2003	6 years and 0 days	Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (1979–86)
5	Sir Derek Cons	康士爵士		27 July 2006	9 years and 0 days	Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (1986–93)
6	Philip Gerard Clough	郭樂富		27 July 2006	9 years and 0 days	Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal (1986–92)
7	William James Silke	邵祺		27 July 2009	12 years and 0 days	Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (1987–94)
8	Kutlu Tekin Fuad	傅雅德		27 July 2009	12 years and 0 days	Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (1988–93)
9	Sir Noel Plunkett Power, GBS	鮑偉華爵士		19 November 2009	12 years and 115 days	Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (1997–99)
10	Gerald Paul Nazareth, GBS	黎守律		27 July 2012	15 years and 0 days	Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (1994–2000)
11	John Barry Mortimer, GBS	馬天敏		27 July 2015	18 years and 0 days	Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (1997–99)
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)
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)
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)
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
1	/ New Zealand / United Kingdom	Lord Cooke of Thorndon	顧安國勳爵	28 July 1997 (Founding NPJ's)	27 July 2006	9 years and 0 days	Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1996–2001)
2	New Zealand	Sir Edward Jonathan Somers	沈穆善爵士		27 July 2003	6 years and 0 days	Judge of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand (1981–90)
3	Australia	Sir Anthony Frank Mason, GBM	梅師賢爵士		27 July 2015	18 years and 0 days	Chief Justice of Australia (1987–95)
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)
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)
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)
7	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)
8	United Kingdom	Lord Woolf of Barnes, 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)
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)
10	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)
11	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)
12	New Zealand	Sir Thomas Munro Gault	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)
13	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 (2009–2017)

See also

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

External links

• Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal
• Hong Kong Judiciary website page on Court of Final Appeal
• Jurist Hong Kong