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| Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal | |
|---|---|
| 香港終審法院 | |
 The logo features the Court of Final Appeal Building | |
 | |
| 22°16′51″N 114°09′37″E / 22.28090°N 114.16035°E | |
| Established | 1 July 1997 |
| Location | 8 Jackson Road, Central, Hong Kong[1] |
| Coordinates | 22°16′51″N 114°09′37″E / 22.28090°N 114.16035°E |
| Composition method | Appointment by the Chief Executive acting in accordance with the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission with Legislative Council endorsement |
| Authorized by | Hong Kong Basic Law Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance |
| Judge term length | Until retirement age of 70 for the Chief Justice and Permanent Judges, but this may be extended by two three-year terms, meaning retirement age can be extended to 76; no retirement age for non-permanent judges |
| Number of positions | One Chief Justice, at least three permanent judges and at most 30 non-permanent judges |
| Website | hkcfa.hk |
| Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal | |
| Currently | Andrew Cheung |
| Since | 11 January 2021 |
| This article is part of the series: Courts of Hong Kong |
| Law of Hong Kong |
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| Court of Final Appeal | |||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 香港終審法院 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 香港终审法院 | ||||||||||||
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The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA or CFA) 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 court meets in the Court of Final Appeal Building located in Central, Hong Kong.
Role of the court
From the 1840s to 30 June 1997, Hong Kong was a British Dependent Territory, and the power of final adjudication on the laws of Hong Kong was vested in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The power to exercise sovereignty over Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. Based on the one country, two systems principle, Hong Kong retains a high degree of autonomy and maintains its own legal system. The Court of Final Appeal was established on 1 July 1997 in Central, Hong Kong. Since then, it has served as the court of last resort; the court has the power of final adjudication with respect to the law of Hong Kong as well as the power of final interpretation over local laws including the power to strike down local ordinances on the grounds of inconsistency with the Basic Law.
However, this power is not absolute; the court's decisions can be overturned by the Chinese government via a controversial process known as an "interpretation" via Article 158 of the Basic Law.[2][3]
The Court of Final Appeal has no original jurisdiction; an appeal has to originate from the High Court (either from the Court of Appeal or the Court of First Instance).
Court structure
Judges
The Court of Final Appeal is made up of the Chief Justice, at least three Permanent Judges, and at most 30 non-permanent Judges who can come from Hong Kong or any overseas Common Law jurisdictions. Under the Basic Law, the constitutional document of Hong Kong, the special administrative region remains a common law jurisdiction. Judges from other common law jurisdictions can be recruited and serve in the judiciary as non-permanent judges according to Article 92 of the Basic Law; to date, Judges appointed have served in the judiciaries of England and Wales, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Aside from the Chief Justice, there is no nationality requirement for any of the permanent or non-permanent judges.
Allowing an appeal
Whether an appeal is allowed or not is determined by a panel of three Hong Kong judges, usually the Chief Justice and two other permanent judges. Should the Chief Justice or a permanent judge not be available, the other permanent judge or a non-permanent judge from Hong Kong may be called in. Non-permanent judges from other jurisdictions do not sit on such panels.
Hearing an appeal
All appeal cases are heard by a bench of five judges consisting of the Chief Justice, three permanent judges and a non-permanent judge from another common law jurisdiction. If the Chief Justice does not sit in an appeal, a permanent judge is designated to sit in the Chief Justice's place, and a non-permanent judge from Hong Kong will sit on the court as well. Similarly, if a permanent judge is unable to sit, a non-permanent Hong Kong judge will sit in place of that permanent judge. Technically, should a non-permanent judge from outside Hong Kong be unable to attend due to extraordinary circumstances (such as during the COVID-19 pandemic), two non-permanent Hong Kong judges may sit on the court or, or the overseas judge may sit via video conferencing.
As the role of a non-permanent judge is not a full time role, a serving High Court judge may be appointed as a non-permanent judge concurrently, such as Vice-President Robert Tang and Vice-President Frank Stock, as they were then known. This is extended only to the most eminent and senior serving High Court justices. There is no mandatory retirement age for a non-permanent judge.
Since the enactment of the National Security Law in 2020, no foreign non-permanent judges has sat during a National Security case, being replaced instead by designated Hong Kong non-permanent judges.
Judicial Assistants
Since 2009, under the auspices of the then-Chief Justice Andrew Li, judicial assistants have been appointed to provide support and assistance to its judges.
Registrar
There is also a Registrar attached to the Court of Final Appeal, to help with review of appeal applications and other administrative duties; the Registrar is usually recruited from the District Court level. The list of Registrar's are as follows:
- Edward Timothy Starbuck Woolley (1997–1999)
- Simon Kwang Cheok-weung (2014–2018)
- Wong King-wah (since June 2023)
Building
From its inception in July 1997 until September 2015, the court was located in the Former French Mission Building, in Central.[4] In September 2015, the court relocated to the former (until 2011) Legislative Council Building, which was originally the colonial Supreme Court (1912–1985).
List of buildings used
- Former French Mission Building (1 July 1997 – 6 September 2015)
- Court of Final Appeal Building (since 7 September 2015)
Image gallery
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The Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong was housed in the Former French Mission Building until September 2015 -
Entrance of the Former French Mission Building -
The Court of Final Appeal Building from Prince's Building -
The Court of Final Appeal has been based at 8 Jackson Road since 7 Sept 2015; the building is the former home of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and the Supreme Court of Hong Kong -
Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal building at night from Prince's Building -
Plaque beside the entrance of the Court of Final Appeal
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Current court
The Cheung Court
The Cheung Court began on 11 January 2021 (3 years and 145 days ago), when Andrew Cheung began his tenure as the 3rd Chief Justice. Currently, 18 justices serve on the Cheung Court, including the Chief Justice, 3 Permanent Judges, and 14 non-permanent judges (10 of whom are from other common law jurisdictions).
Permanent members of the court
- The Hon. Chief Justice Andrew Cheung (since January 2021; first appointed Permanent Judge in October 2018)
- The Hon. Mr. Justice Roberto Ribeiro (since September 2000)
- The Hon. Mr. Justice Joseph Fok (since October 2013)
- The Hon. Mr. Justice Johnson Lam (since July 2021)
List of permanent judges
Chief Justices
| No. | Name | Chinese name | Tenure start | Tenure end | Tenure length | Previous judicial office | Inner bar | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Li Kwok-nang, GBM (Born 12 December 1948; age 75) |
李國能 | 1 July 1997 | 31 August 2010 | 13 years and 62 days | None (Barrister–Queen's Counsel) (Concurrent Deputy High Court Judge) |
QC (1988) | Tung Chee-hwa |
| 2 | Geoffrey Ma Tao-li, GBM (Born 11 January 1956; age 68) |
馬道立 | 1 September 2010 | 10 January 2021 | 10 years and 132 days | Chief Judge of the High Court | QC (1993) | Donald Tsang |
| 3 | Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, GBM (Born 24 September 1961; age 62) |
張舉能 | 11 January 2021 | Incumbent | 3 years and 145 days | Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal | Carrie Lam |
Permanent Judges
| No. | Name | Chinese name | Replacing | Tenure start | Tenure end | Tenure length | Previous judicial office | Inner bar | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henry Denis Litton, GBM (Born 7 August 1934; age 89) |
烈顯倫 | Inaugural | 1 July 1997 | 13 September 2000[a] | 3 years and 75 days | Vice-president of the Court of Appeal | QC (1970) | Tung Chee-hwa |
| 2 | Charles Arthur Ching, GBM (7 October 1935 – 30 November 2000; aged 65) |
沈澄 | Inaugural | 1 July 1997 | 6 October 2000 | 3 years and 98 days | Justice of Appeal | QC (1974) | |
| 3 | Syed Kemal Shah Bokhary, GBM (Born 25 October 1947; age 76) |
包致金 | Inaugural | 1 July 1997 | 24 October 2012 | 15 years and 116 days | Justice of Appeal | QC (1983) | |
| 4 | Patrick Chan Siu-oi, GBM (Born 21 October 1948; age 75) |
陳兆愷 | Litton | 1 September 2000[b] | 20 October 2013 | 13 years and 50 days | Chief Judge of the High Court | ||
| 5 | Roberto Alexandre Vieira Ribeiro, GBM (Born 20 March 1949; age 75) |
李義 | Ching | 1 September 2000[c] | Incumbent | 23 years and 277 days | Justice of Appeal | QC (1990) | |
| 6 | Robert Tang Kwok-ching, GBM, SBS (Born 7 January 1947; age 77) |
鄧國楨 | Bokhary | 25 October 2012 | 24 October 2018 | 6 years and 0 days | Vice-president of the Court of Appeal (Concurrent Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal) |
QC (1986) | Leung Chun-ying |
| 7 | Joseph Paul Fok (Born 24 September 1962; age 61) |
霍兆剛 | Chan | 21 October 2013 | Incumbent | 10 years and 227 days | Justice of Appeal | SC (1999) | |
| 8 | Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, GBM (Born 24 September 1961; age 62) |
張舉能 | Tang | 25 October 2018 | 10 January 2021[d] | 2 years and 78 days | Chief Judge of the High Court | Carrie Lam | |
| 9 | Johnson Lam Man-hon (Born August 1961; age 62) |
林文瀚 | Cheung | 30 July 2021 | Incumbent | 2 years and 310 days | Vice-president of the Court of Appeal |