The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies,the British Overseas Territories,some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King-in-Council,the Privy Council formerly acted as the court of last resort for the entire British Empire,other than for the United Kingdom itself.
Sir Noel Plunkett Power,was a senior judge in Hong Kong and Brunei Darussalam. He had been a barrister-at-law in his home-country Australia when he joined the judiciary of Hong Kong in 1965 as a magistrate in the Lands Tribunal. Since then,he had been successively promoted as President of the Lands Tribunal,a puisne judge of the Supreme Court and Vice-President of the Court of Appeal. In 1996,he became acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court when Sir Ti-liang Yang resigned and contested for the first ever election of the Chief Executive. After the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from Britain to People's Republic of China in 1997,he was appointed Vice-President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court. He retired from the High Court in 1999 but remained as a non-permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal.
The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA) 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 Articles 19 and 85 of the Hong Kong Basic Law,the Court of Final Appeal "exercises judicial power in the Region independently and free from any interference." The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance and the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Rules set out the detailed functions and procedures of the court.
Lawrence Antony Collins,Baron Collins of Mapesbury is a British judge and former Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He was also appointed to the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong on 11 April 2011 as a non-permanent judge from other common law jurisdictions. He resigned from the court on 6 June 2024 due to the political situation in Hong Kong.
The Judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the judicial branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Under the Basic Law of Hong Kong,it exercises the judicial power of the Region and is independent of the executive and legislative branches of the Government. The courts in Hong Kong hear and adjudicate all prosecutions and civil disputes,including all public and private law matters.
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases and for criminal cases originating in England,Wales and Northern Ireland. As the United Kingdom's highest appellate court for these matters,it hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population.
The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a part of the legal system of Hong Kong. It consists of the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance;it deals with criminal and civil cases which have risen beyond the lower courts. It is a superior court of record of unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction. It was named the Supreme Court before 1997. Though previously named the Supreme Court,this Court has long been the local equivalent to the Senior Courts of England and Wales and has never been vested with the power of final adjudication.
The Court of First Instance is the lower court of the High Court of Hong Kong,the upper court being the Court of Appeal. Formerly the High Court of Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong,it was renamed the Court of First Instance by the Basic Law after the handover of Hong Kong.
The Court of Appeal of the High Court of Hong Kong is the second most senior court in the Hong Kong legal system. It deals with appeals on all civil and criminal cases from the Court of First Instance and the District Court. It is one of two courts that make up the High Court of Hong Kong. Sometimes criminal appeals from Magistrates' Courts with general public importance are also dealt with in the Court of Appeal,either by referral by a single judge from the Court of First Instance,or upon granting of leave on application for review by the Secretary for Justice.
Sir Denys Tudor Emil Roberts was a British colonial official and judge. Joining the colonial civil service as a Crown Counsel in Nyasaland in 1953,he became Attorney General of Gibraltar in 1960. In 1962,he was posted to Hong Kong as Solicitor-General,and was successively promoted to Attorney-General in 1966,Colonial Secretary/Chief Secretary in 1973 and Chief Justice in 1979. He was the first and only Attorney-General to become both Colonial Secretary in Hong Kong. Never having been a judge before,he was appointed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1979 and was the first and only Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong to receive such appointment.
In most legal jurisdictions,a supreme court,also known as a court of last resort,apex court,and highcourt of appeal,and court of final appeal,is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking,the decisions of a supreme court are binding on all other courts in a nation and are not subject to further review by any other court. Supreme courts typically function primarily as appellate courts,hearing appeals from decisions of lower trial courts,or from intermediate-level appellate courts. A supreme court can also,in certain circumstances,act as a court of original jurisdiction.
The chief justice of Hong Kong was,until 1997,the chief judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong and the most senior judge in the court system.
The British Supreme Court for China was a court established in the Shanghai International Settlement to try cases against British subjects in China,Japan and Korea under the principles of extraterritoriality.
Sir Hiram Shaw Wilkinson,JP,DL (1840–1926) was a leading British judge and diplomat,serving in China and Japan. His last position before retirement was as Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Corea.
Sir Havilland Walter de Sausmarez,1st Baronet was a judge of various British colonial or consular courts in Africa and Asia,the Ottoman Empire and China. His last judicial position before retirement was chief judge of the British Supreme Court for China. He later served as bailiff of Guernsey.
Sir John Jackson Smale was a British lawyer and judge. He served as Attorney General and the longest-serving Chief Justice of Hong Kong.
John Walter Hulme (1805-1861) was a British lawyer and Judge. He was the first Chief Justice of Hong Kong,taking office in 1844.
The judiciary of Solomon Islands is a branch of the Government of Solomon Islands that interprets and applies the laws of Solomon Islands,to ensure equal justice under law,and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The legal system is derived from chapter VII,part II of the Constitution,adopted when the country became independent from the United Kingdom in 1978. The Constitution provided for the creation of a High Court,with original jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases,and a Court of Appeal. It also provided for the possibility of "subordinate courts",with no further specification (art.84).
Paul Ivy Sterling was a British lawyer and Judge. He served as the first Attorney General of Hong Kong and as a Puisne Judge in Ceylon .
The Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam is the highest court of Brunei Darussalam,though its decisions are subject to appeal in civil cases to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Chief Justice and other Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Sultan of Brunei to sit in judgment of the most acrimonious contentions in the country.
