Statement of The Law Society of Hong Kong on the Appointment of Judges

28 June 2018

(for immediate release)

1. The appointment of judges and judicial officers for the Judiciary of Hong Kong is made in accordance with Article 92 of the Basic Law, which provides:
   
   “Judges and other members of the judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be chosen on the basis of their judicial and professional qualities and may be recruited from other common law jurisdictions.”
   
   
2. Judicial and professional qualities are the only criteria for choosing judges. The Council of the Law Society is not aware of any departure from the above.
   
   
3. Any attempts to introduce political or ideological screening in the judicial appointment process are ill-conceived and misplaced. Such attempts will cause the public to query the impartiality and integrity of judges and will undermine public confidence in the Rule of Law.
   
   
4. The Courts, including the Court of Final Appeal (CFA), regularly adjudicate, in accordance with the law, cases involving novel and important constitutional issues that may be (among other things) politically, socially or culturally sensitive. There is no basis for any suggestion that the CFA or any Courts, when adjudicating cases, may be prejudiced by any political persuasion.
   
   
5. The Council has full confidence that the Courts will continue to adjudicate cases based on the law.
   
   
6. The Council considers that, since its establishment in 1997, the CFA has been an unqualified success as part of the HKSAR legal system.
   
   

For media enquiry, please contact Ms. Rachel So, Director of Communications and External Affairs at 2846 0520 or by email (adceag@hklawsoc.org.hk).

About the Law Society of Hong Kong

The Law Society of Hong Kong is a professional body of solicitors in Hong Kong vested with the statutory powers to regulate the professional conduct of solicitors. It establishes and promotes professional standards and the solicitors' code of conduct and practice and ensures its compliance. The Law Society assists its members to promote Hong Kong legal services and offers its views from time to time on legal issues that are of public concern. For more information, please visit: www.hklawsoc.org.hk