The Honourable Chief Justice
Andrew Cheung Kui-nung
GBM
張舉能
3rd Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong
Assumed office
11 January 2021
Appointed byCarrie Lam
Preceded byGeoffrey Ma
Designated National Security Law Judge
Assumed office
2020
Appointed byCarrie Lam
Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal
In office
25 October 2018 – 11 January 2021
Appointed byCarrie Lam
Preceded byRobert Tang
4th Chief Judge of the High Court
In office
20 June 2011 – 24 October 2018
Appointed byDonald Tsang
Preceded byGeoffrey Ma
Succeeded byJeremy Poon
Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
In office
2003–2011
Deputy High Court Judge
In office
2001–2003
Judge of the District Court
In office
2001–2003
Personal details
Born (1961-09-24) 24 September 1961 (age 62)
British Hong Kong
NationalityChinese
Alma materHarvard Law School
University of Hong Kong
OccupationJudge
ProfessionBarrister
Andrew Cheung
Traditional Chinese張舉能
Simplified Chinese张举能

Andrew Cheung Kui-nung GBM (Chinese: 張舉能; born 24 September 1961) 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.

Early life

Born in Hong Kong on 24 September 1961, Cheung attended Ying Wa College, before reading law at the University of Hong Kong and taking a Master of Laws degree at Harvard Law School in the United States.[1] Cheung served briefly as a Lecturer and Demonstrator of the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong on a part-time basis after graduation.[2]

Legal career

The Bar: 1985–2001

Cheung was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1985 as a pupil of Audrey Eu and began private practice the following year in the chambers of Henry Litton. His practice mainly involved civil and commercial cases.[3][4][5] In 1995, he was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore.[1]

The bench: 2001–

Cheung was appointed to the bench in 2001 as a judge of the District Court of Hong Kong. Sitting first as a Deputy High Court Judge in December 2001, he was soon elevated to the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2003. He was then appointed as the Probate Judge in 2004, before becoming the Judge in charge of the Constitutional and Administrative Law List of the High Court in 2008.[1] His tenure was marked by a number of high-profile rulings relating to constitutional and human rights matters.[6][7]

In June 2011, Cheung succeeded Geoffrey Ma as the Chief Judge of the High Court and President of the Court of Appeal,[8][9] making him the fourth local judge to hold this position. In his speech to the Legislative Council moving the resolution to endorse Cheung's appointment, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr. Henry Tang, described Cheung as an outstanding lawyer with the ability to handle difficult and complex cases and the potential of being a good administrator of the High Court.[10]

He was elected an Honorary Bencher of Lincoln's Inn in 2017.[11]

On 21 March 2018, the Judiciary announced his appointment as a Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal with effect from 25 October 2018, succeeding Robert Tang. Cheung's appointment was accompanied by the appointments of Baroness Hale and Beverley McLachlin as Non-Permanent Judges of the city's top court.[12] He held the office of Chief Judge of the High Court for 7 years, 127 days – the longest serving of the four judges who had served in the role.

Cheung is a member of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, which makes recommendations to the Chief Executive on judicial appointments. He is a member of the Law Reform Commission and also chairs or is a member of various committees and working parties within the Judiciary.[13][14][15]

Cheung was announced as the 3rd Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal on 24 March 2020, succeeding Geoffrey Ma. His appointment took effect on 11 January 2021. He is the first local law graduate to be appointed Hong Kong's Chief Justice.[4]

In May 2023, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) of the United States Congress suggested the United States government imposing sanctions on Cheung to counter the erosion of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong over his handling of Jimmy Lai's national security law case.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Annex Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Government of Hong Kong. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Judicial Appointment". Government of Hong Kong. 21 August 2003. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Next chief justice will preside over cases involving key constitutional disputes". South China Morning Post. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b "HKU Law congratulates the first homegrown Chief Justice of the HKSAR – Andrew Cheung | Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong". Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  5. ^ "QC 'hit parade' comes under fire". South China Morning Post. 6 March 1994. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Andrew Cheung named as new chief judge". South China Morning Post. 12 April 2011.
  7. ^ "Notable CFI Judgments" (PDF). Hong Kong Legco.
  8. ^ "Cheung named next chief of High Court". The Standard. 12 April 2011. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  9. ^ "Government Notice No.3932, Gazette 2011 Vol.15 No.25". Government of Hong Kong. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  10. ^ "Speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration at the meeting of the Legislative Council on 8 June 2011" (PDF).
  11. ^ eveb. "List of Benchers". lincolnsinn.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Top court gets new judges". The Standard. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  13. ^ "JORC Report 2015" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  14. ^ "Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal – The Permanent Judges – The Honourable Mr Justice Andrew CHEUNG Kui-nung". hkcfa.hk.
  15. ^ "Civil And Miscellaneous Lists : Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission". Government of Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  16. ^ "ONE CITY, TWO LEGAL SYSTEMS: HONG KONG JUDGES' ROLE IN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS UNDER THE NATIONAL SECURITY LAW". Congressional-Executive Commission on China. 10 May 2023.
  17. ^ "No bail should be granted to defendants charged under national security law, says prosecutor". The Standard. 1 February 2021.
Legal offices Preceded byGeoffrey Ma Chief Judge of the High Court 2011–2018 Succeeded byJeremy Poon Shiu-chor Preceded byRobert Tang Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal 2018–2021 Served alongside: Robert Ribeiro, Joseph Fok Succeeded byJohnson Lam New creation Designated National Security Law Judge 2020–Present Incumbent Preceded byGeoffrey Ma Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal 2021–Present Incumbent Order of precedence Preceded byJohn LeeChief Executive of Hong Kong Hong Kong order of precedenceChief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal Succeeded byTung Chee HwaFormer Chief Executives
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