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The chief justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, sometimes informally known as the chief justice of Hong Kong, is the head of the
Judiciary of Hong Kong The Judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the judicial branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Under the Basic Law of Hong Kong, it exercises the judicial power of the Region and is independent of the exec ...
and the chief judge of the Court of Final Appeal.Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (Cap. 484), Section 6(2)
/ref> The chief justice is one of three permanent members of the Court. During
British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
between 1843 and 1997, the head of the Hong Kong Judiciary was the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong; that position became the chief judge of the High Court in 1997. The first chief justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal was
Andrew Li Andrew Li Kwok-nang (; born December 1948) is a retired Hong Kong judge, and a former Chief Justice of Hong Kong, who was the first to preside over the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, established on 1 July 1997. Li was succeeded by Geoffre ...
, who served for over 13 years.


Role of the chief justice

The chief justice is the president of the Court of Final Appeal, and is charged with the administration of the Judiciary and often acts as its spokesperson. He is assisted by the court leaders of the lower courts for judicial administration (such as dealing with staffing, promotions, or public complaints), namely the chief judge of the High Court,
chief district judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...
, and the
chief magistrate Chief magistrate is a public official, executive or judicial, whose office is the highest in its class. Historically, the two different meanings of magistrate have often overlapped and refer to, as the case may be, to a major political and admini ...
. In hearing and determining an appeal, the Court will consist of five judges, with the chief justice sitting at the middle of the bench. However, the chief justice enjoys no higher authority than other Permanent or Non-permanent Judges of the court when it comes to judicial decisions. The office of Chief Justice is second only to the
chief executive of Hong Kong The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, Special Administrative Region and head of government, head of the Government of Hong Kong. The ...
in the Hong Kong order of precedence. In the case of an
impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...
of a
chief executive of Hong Kong The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, Special Administrative Region and head of government, head of the Government of Hong Kong. The ...
, the chief justice presides over the trial as provided by the Hong Kong Basic Law. The chief justice is also the chairman ex-officio of the
Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission The Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC, ) is a statutory body in Hong Kong responsible for advising and making recommendations to the Chief Executive on judicial appointments and related matters established after the Handover in a ...
which makes recommendations to fill a variety of judicial roles, and also determines the elevation of junior barristers to senior counsel status.


List

All Chief Justice's, to date, have served for at least 10 years before retiring. Below is a list of all Chief Justice's sorted by length of tenure:


Residence

The chief justice resides at the Chief Justice's House, also known as the Clavadel, at 19 Gough Hill Road, The Peak. It was built in 1893. The chief justice is also chauffeured in a government vehicle with the license plate "CJ".


Judiciary administrator

Attached to the office of the chief justice is a Judiciary administrator, who assists the chief justice in the overall administration of the Judiciary. Being the head of the Judiciary Administration, she has to ensure that proper support is provided to judges and judicial officers in the administration of justice, and that court operation is being carried out effectively and smoothly.


See also

* Court of Final Appeal * Permanent Judges of the Court of Final Appeal * Chief Judge of the High Court of Hong Kong *
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong The chief justice of Hong Kong was, until 1997, the chief judge (, later 首席大法官) of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong and the most senior judge in the court system. Supreme Court of Hong Kong The Supreme Court of Hong ...
*
Legal system of Hong Kong The law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has its foundation in the English common law system, inherited from being a former British colony and dependent territory. There are several sources of law, the primary ones being statute ...


Notes


References

{{Hong Kong Chief Justices