Chief Justice Andrew Li says it has been the greatest honour of his life to serve as the first Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, adding serving the community at this historic moment is challenging and meaningful.

Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Mr Li said the rule of law with an independent judiciary is the cornerstone of society.

Judges have the duty to decide disputes between citizens, and between citizens and government, fairly, impartially, and without fear or favour, he said, adding judges also have the duty to safeguard people's rights and freedoms.

"In the last 13 years I have tried my best to lead the Judiciary to discharge its responsibilities. An important challenge has been to establish the reputation of the Court of Final Appeal and to develop the constitutional jurisprudence involving the interpretation of the Basic Law."

He said the new constitutional order under the One Country, Two Systems formula is unprecedented, adding deciding cases involving the Basic Law has been the most challenging area.

Another important challenge has been to seek to ensure citizens have access to justice, he added. The Judiciary has therefore launched civil justice reform, promoted mediation as an alternative means of resolving disputes, and developed a resource centre for unrepresented litigants.

The maintenance of the rule of law depends not only on the efforts of the Judiciary, Mr Li said.

"The contribution in this regards of the Government, of the Legislative Council, and of the legal professional must be acknowledged and recognised. I would like to thank the media for the vigilance they have exercised over matters concerning the rule of law and judicial independence.

"I wish to reiterate it has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as the first Chief Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. I thank the community for giving me this opportunity to serve our citizens in maintaining the rule of law."

On the sentences handed to Amina Bokhary who assaulted a policeman after a January traffic accident, he said he is aware of the community's concerns.

"The Secretary for Justice has decided to appeal. So the judicial process is ongoing and has not yet been completed. It is not appropriate for me to comment on the case."

Noting the present judicial system is fair, he said there is a lot of room for improvement and people must work at it. "There is no magic wand which can be waved to solve the problem and we must adopt a number of measures to alleviate the matter."

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