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[text/observer network yan shanshan] according to reports from the south china morning post, wireless news and other hong kong media, the 86-year-old british senior judge nicholas phillips, who serves as an overseas non-permanent judge of the hong kong court of final appeal, was arrested on september 30 due to "personal reasons". the term of office of a non-permanent judge will not be renewed after the expiration of the term, and the four-term non-permanent judge's term of 12 years in total will end with immediate effect.

a spokesman for the judiciary of the hong kong special administrative region stated that fan lishen's departure will not affect the operation of the hong kong court of final appeal and will continue to search for non-permanent judges locally and overseas.

nicholas phillips did not renew his appointment as an overseas non-permanent judge of the hong kong court of final appeal due to personal reasons

what is a non-permanent judge?

the hong kong court of final appeal was established on july 1, 1997, when the hong kong court of final appeal ordinance (chapter 484) came into effect. it is the highest court of appeal of the hong kong special administrative region and hears civil and criminal appeals involving general or public important legal issues.

one characteristic of the composition of the hong kong court of final appeal is that in addition to the chief justice and permanent judges of the court of final appeal, it also has a group of non-permanent judges from hong kong and other common law jurisdictions, who are invited to join the court of final appeal as needed. case.

according to the hong kong court of final appeal ordinance, appeals must be heard in a "4+1" manner, that is, the chief justice of the court of final appeal (or a permanent judge designated to hear the case on his behalf), three permanent judges nominated by the chief justice , and a non-permanent judge selected by the chief justice and invited by the court of final appeal to conduct hearings.

the term of non-permanent judges is three years, but the chief executive of the hong kong special administrative region may extend their terms on the recommendation of the chief justice. once appointed, non-permanent judges, like other judges in hong kong, must take a judicial oath to uphold the basic law, serve hong kong with due diligence, abide by the law, and be impartial and honest. the total number of non-permanent judges at any one time shall not exceed thirty.

sar judiciary: operations of the hong kong court of final appeal will not be affected

francis was born in january 1938 and graduated from king's college, cambridge university. he served as president of the supreme court of the united kingdom from 2009 to 2012. since 2012, he has served as an overseas non-permanent judge of the hong kong court of final appeal.

a spokesman for the judiciary of the hong kong special administrative region said that the judiciary is grateful for fan lishen's great contribution to the work of the hong kong court of final appeal and his support for the rule of law in hong kong during his term of office. although a number of non-permanent judges have resigned in recent years, the vast majority of serving and outgoing non-permanent judges have publicly reiterated their continued confidence in hong kong's independent judicial system and the hong kong courts' commitment to upholding the rule of law.

judge nicholas phillips’ career hong kong wireless news

the spokesman pointed out that after the expiration of fan lishen's term, there will be a total of 10 non-permanent judges in hong kong's court of final appeal, including 4 non-permanent hong kong judges and 6 non-permanent judges from the united kingdom and australia.

the judiciary of the sar stated that the number of appeal cases in the court of final appeal has remained stable and that the recent changes in court personnel will not affect the operation of the court of final appeal. the judiciary of the sar will continue to identify suitable local and overseas candidates to serve as non-permanent judges. if suitable candidates are found, the relevant judicial appointments will be processed in accordance with the established mechanisms of the relevant provisions of the basic law and the hong kong court of final appeal ordinance.

according to hong kong media, francis farley from the united kingdom is the fifth overseas non-permanent judge of hong kong’s court of final appeal to resign this year. two former judges of the british supreme court who held this position resigned in june this year. 75-year-old jonathan sumption , 83-year-old lawrence collins; 81-year-old canadian female justice beverley mclachlin, and 86-year-old australian justice anthony murray gleeson also resigned this year.

among them, when magalin left office, she expressed full confidence in the independence of the court and the determination to uphold the rule of law; ji lixin did not renew his term on the grounds that he was "old and does not want to renew his term."

hong kong bar association: full of confidence in hong kong’s court of final appeal maintaining judicial independence

the hong kong bar association stated that it respects fan lishen's decision not to renew his term and thanks him for serving the hong kong court of final appeal for 12 years after resigning from the british supreme court and for his contribution to the development of hong kong's rule of law and jurisprudence. the association also thanks all overseas non-permanent judges for supporting and assisting the court of final appeal in performing its judicial functions, and is confident that the court of final appeal will maintain judicial independence and advantages.