Since 1997, British and Commonwealth judges have sat in the highest court in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong legal system is derived from English common law and foreign judges, including those from the UK, have been said to add expertise and prestige to its court system.
But in 2020 Beijing imposed a strict national security law to clamp down on pro-democracy protests. Since then the number of foreign judges has fallen as fears grow that the judges are lending credibility to a system where basic rights and freedoms are not being respected.
On Monday one of Hong Kong’s best known pro-democracy activists, the jailed media mogul Jimmy Lai, will be appealing against one of his convictions. Like many people in Hong Kong he is a British citizen, and one of the judges who will hear his appeal is also British. Campaigners have said it is a shocking situation and called on the three remaining British judges – who are retired but are all in the House of Lords – to quit. Amy Hawkins explains how the situation unfolded and Michael Safi hears why the remaining British judges feel they still have a role to play in upholding justice in Hong Kong.
Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images
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