Australian judge James Spigelman has resigned from Hong Kong’s top court months after Beijing tightened restrictions on the legal system and imposed new national security laws on the former British colony.
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam said in a government gazette published on Friday that she had « revoked the appointment » of Spigelman.
A Hong Kong government spokeswoman confirmed Spigelman had tendered his resignation on September 2, but no further reasons for the termination were given.
The former ABC chairman has been contacted for comment through the Lowy Institute where he is a board member.
The 74-year-old has served on Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal since April 2013 as a non-permanent judge. The former lieutenant-governor of NSW was one of four judges from Australia on the court, which was established after the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China, to continue the British common-law system. There are also nine British judges and one Canadian judge on the court.
Former Australian High Court chief justices Murray Gleeson and Robert French along with former High Court judge William Gummow have not had their appointments publicly revoked.
The court has never had jurisdiction over acts of state, such as defence and foreign affairs, but the imposition of the new national security laws by Beijing in July raised questions about its future. The laws prevent, curb and punish dissent, threats to the Chinese state, pro-democracy or independence sentiment. They have been condemned by the Australian, British and US governments.
British MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the future of Commonwealth judges on the court needed to be examined.
« That is the question – to what degree will these independent judges just give cover to what is a totalitarian regime, » he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
The former leader of the Conservative Party said the current situation was « exposing decent people to intolerable structures » that do not exist in the UK or Australia where the judiciary « are free to reach decisions without fear or favour ».
« This is not the case in Hong Kong, » he said. « I think this is a question that now needs to be dealt with. »
The Chinese government maintains the laws are necessary to restore law and order after more than 15 months of protests over Beijing’s influence in the territory.
The former chief justice of NSW has never spoken publicly about the Hong Kong protests or the new national security laws, which give courts the power to hear trials in secret and send dissidents to the mainland China for prosecution.
Spigelman, who was born in Poland to Jewish parents that survived the Holocaust, was vocal about his belief in social justice in interviews with the Law Society of Hong Kong in 2016.
« I always understood the importance of social tolerance in the community, » he said, adding his background made him « particularly sympathetic to groups who suffer discrimination or are otherwise oppressed ».
He also defended the principles of open justice as « the foundation of judicial accountability », arguing it was « essential to maintain public confidence in the judiciary and the administration of justice ».
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Eryk Bagshaw is the China correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Due to travel restrictions, he is currently based in Canberra.
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
