The Basic Law provision allowing judges from other common law jurisdictions to sit on the Court of Final Appeal has proved to be a success, manifested in the willingness of so many eminent judges from such jurisdictions to sit on it since 1997, Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen says.
Speaking at a luncheon of the Law Society of New South Wales during a visit to Australia today, Mr Yuen said their willingness to sit on Hong Kong’s final appeal court underscores the independence of the Judiciary of Hong Kong.
He also cited the status of the Court of Final Appeal and its judgements as another manifestation of the success, noting that during the colonial era, apart from Privy Council decisions on appeal from Hong Kong, the Hong Kong courts’ decisions were hardly cited by the final appellate courts in other common law jurisdictions.
Nor were such decisions considered as leading authorities in textbooks for practitioners or students during that era, he added. Mr Yuen noted that the significant change in the scenario since the final appeal court was established illustrates how cross-fertilisation among jurists from different common law jurisdictions can enhance the further development of common law.
"If cross-fertilisation amongst judges can generate such synergy, there is no question that cross-fertilisation amongst legal practitioners and other sectors of the legal community may likewise generate the impetus to further develop common law for the general good of the common law world," he said.
Mr Yuen also met with Acting Governor and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales TF Bathurst and Acting New South Wales Ombudsman Prof John McMillan.
In addition, he met with President of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration Alex Baykitch and President of the Law Society of New South Wales Gary Ulman to foster closer ties between the legal and arbitration sectors of Hong Kong and Australia.
He also called on the Chinese Consul General in Sydney Gu Xiaojie.
