The vice presidents of the Court of Appeal of Hong Kong are senior justices of appeal who have been appointed by the chief judge of the High Court of Hong Kong to preside over certain divisions of the Court of Appeal. Originally, there were only two vice presidents, dealing with the criminal division and civil division respectively. This later grew to three to include a mixed division, and occasionally up to four to help ease the burden of workload on each vice president. [1]
The vice-presidents usually preside over an appeal hearing unless the chief judge is sitting, then the chief judge presides. From an order of precedence standpoint, they are more senior than regular justices of appeal and often are given some administrative responsibilities by the chief judge. However, from a judicial judgement standpoint, vice presidents, like the Chief Judge, are the same as any Justice of Appeal and do not possess any greater power during appeals.
Andrew Li Kwok-nang is a retired Hong Kong judge, and a former Chief Justice of Hong Kong, who was the first to preside over the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, established on 1 July 1997. Li was succeeded by Geoffrey Ma on 1 September 2010.
Anthony Murray Gleeson is an Australian former judge who served as the 11th Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1998 to 2008.
The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal 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 Basic Law of Hong Kong, 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.
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 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 makes 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.
There are various levels of judiciary in England and Wales—different types of courts have different styles of judges. They also form a strict hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, so that judges of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales are given more weight than district judges sitting in county courts and magistrates' courts. On 1 April 2020 there were 3,174 judges in post in England and Wales. Some judges with United Kingdom-wide jurisdiction also sit in England and Wales, particularly Justices of the United Kingdom Supreme Court and members of the tribunals judiciary.
A judicial commissioner is person appointed on a non-permanent basis to a judicial office. In some countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore, judicial commissioners have the powers of full judges. In other jurisdictions their powers are limited.
Patrick Stewart Hodge, Lord Hodge, PC is a British lawyer, currently serving as Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
Geoffrey Ma Tao-li is a retired Hong Kong judge who served as the 2nd Chief Justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal—the court of last resort in Hong Kong. Between 2001 and 2010, he held various positions in the High Court of Hong Kong, including Chief Judge, Justice of Appeal, and Judge of the Court of First Instance. Before his judicial career, he was a barrister-at-law in private practice at Temple Chambers, and was qualified to practice in England and Wales, Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore.
Andrew Cheung Kui-nung is a Hong Kong judge who serves as the 3rd Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal. He previously served as a Permanent Judge of the same court. He was the 4th and longest-serving Chief Judge of the High Court.
Johnson Lam Man-hon is a Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.
The Chief Judge of the High Court of Hong Kong (CJHC) is the head of the High Court of Hong Kong and the President of the Court of Appeal of Hong Kong. In the Hong Kong order of precedence, the Chief Judge is the second most senior administrative judge for the courts system, second only to the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong. The position of Chief Judge is the broad equivalent of the Master of the Rolls in the courts system of England and Wales.
Ian Charles McWalters is Chairman of the Market Misconduct Tribunal and the Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal in Hong Kong. He is a retired judge and former prosecutor.
The Honourable Mr Justice Aarif Tyebjee Barma is a Hong Kong judge, and currently serves as Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of Hong Kong.
The Honourable Mr Justice Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor (潘兆初) is the Chief Judge of the High Court of Hong Kong and President of the Court of Appeal of Hong Kong.
The Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission is a statutory body in Hong Kong responsible for advising and making recommendations to the Chief Executive on judicial appointments and related matters established after the Handover in accordance with the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission Ordinance. According to Article 88 of the Basic Law, the Chief Executive shall appoint judges on the recommendation of the Commission, suggesting that he or she is not empowered to make appointments on his or her own accord.
Temple Chambers is a set of barristers' chambers based in Admiralty, Hong Kong. It is widely considered to be one of the leading sets of chambers in Hong Kong given its high ratio of senior counsel to juniors, as well as a strong history of appointments to key judicial and government roles.
Carlye Chu Fun-ling is a Hong Kong judge. She has served as a Vice President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court since November 2022.
Paul Lam Ting-kwok is a Hong Kong Senior Counsel who is the current Secretary for Justice.