By Michael Holden
LONDON (Reuters) -Two senior British judges, including the president of the UK Supreme Court, have submitted their resignation from Hong Kong’s highest court, saying their role was untenable because of a security law China imposed on the former British colony.
In statement on Wednesday, Robert Reed, who heads Britain’s top judicial body, said he and colleague Patrick Hodge, would leave their roles as non-permanent judges on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA).
“I have concluded, in agreement with the government, that the judges of the Supreme Court cannot continue to sit in Hong Kong without appearing to endorse an administration which has departed from values of political freedom, and freedom of expression,” Reed said.
“Lord Hodge and I have accordingly submitted our resignations as non-permanent judges of the HKCFA with immediate effect.”
Britain, which ruled Hong Kong for over 150 years until it handed it back to China in 1997, has said a sweeping security law imposed on the territory by Beijing two years ago was a breach of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration that paved the way for the handover.
Beijing says the law is needed to bring stability to Hong Kong after mass, pro-democracy protests in 2019, and that the legislation includes human rights safeguards.
“We have seen a systematic erosion of liberty and democracy in Hong Kong. Since the National Security Law was imposed, authorities have cracked down on free speech, the free press and free association,” British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.
“The situation has reached a tipping point where it is no longer tenable for British judges to sit on Hong Kong’s leading court, and would risk legitimising oppression.”
Earlier this month Truss criticised Hong Kong authorities for accusing a British-based human rights groups of colluding with foreign forces in a “likely” violation of the security law.
The presence of foreign judges in Hong Kong is enshrined in the Basic Law, the mini-constitution that guarantees the global financial hub’s freedoms and extensive autonomy under Chinese rule, including the continuation of Hong Kong’s common law traditions forged during the British colonial era.
Reed has previously said he would not serve on the HKCFA in the event the judiciary in the city was undermined.
(Reporting by Michael Holden and William James; Editing by Kate Holton and Barbara Lewis)
