Australian judge resigns from Hong Kong’s top court, sixth to step down in year
Justice Robert French stresses his respect for members of the court, says role of non-permanent judges has become ‘increasingly anachronistic’
An Australian judge has resigned from Hong Kong’s top court, becoming the sixth foreign member to step down over the past year, telling the Post on Friday he had observed that the role of non-permanent justices had “become increasingly anachronistic and arguably cosmetic”.
Justice Robert French, a non-permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal since 2017, revealed that he had tendered his resignation on March 31. The judge, 78, stressed that he maintained his “respect for the Hong Kong and international members of the court and their integrity and independence”.
The judiciary announced French’s resignation earlier on Friday while the government said the presence or absence of individual judges would not undermine the integrity of the judicial system.
French said he would not be making any statement about the national security laws and associated practices but “there will no doubt be future cases in which their interpretation and application will come before the court”.