Sir Alan Armstrong Huggins (

Traditional Chinese A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

: 赫健士爵士, 15 May 1921 – 10 December 2009) was a British colonial judge serving in places including

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, Hong Kong and

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

. He spent nearly 40 years in 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 ...

, serving as a Vice-President of the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

from 1980 to 1987. After the

transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony, which began in 1841. Hong Kong was established as a specia ...

in 1997, he was appointed a non-permanent Hong Kong judge of the Court of Final Appeal until 2003.

Biography

Early years

Alan Huggins was born in Staines,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, on 15 May 1921 to William Armstrong Huggins, a Lloyd's underwriter, and Dale Copping.SINCLAIR, Kevin, "HUGGINS, Alan Armstrong (Sir)", ''Who's Who in Hongkong'', Database Publication, 1984."Sir Alan Huggins", ''The Daily Telegraph'', 8 February 2010. He had an elder brother called Eric."Sir Alan Huggins: colonial judge", ''The Times'', 11 January 2010. His family was related to Viscount Malvern (1883–1971), Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia. Huggins was educated at Radley College from 1936 to 1939. He went on to study law at

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

, in 1939, where he subsequently obtained a MA degree in 1941. During the Second World War Huggins served at the Salvage Branch of the Admiralty from 1941 to 1946, and belonged to the Territorial Army Reserve of Officers from 1940 to 1948. After being called to the bar by

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1947, he worked at the chambers of Lionel Blundell, QC, in King's Bench Walk for four years from 1947 to 1951.

Judicial career

In 1951, Huggins entered the

Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

and followed his elder brother to Africa, becoming a

resident magistrate A resident magistrate is a title for magistrates used in certain parts of the world, that were, or are, governed by the British. Sometimes abbreviated as RM, it refers to suitably qualified personnel—notably well versed in the law—brought int ...

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

, Uganda. However, his first wife did not want to stay in Africa after her sister-in-law was murdered by a servant in

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

. In 1953, Huggins was therefore transferred to Hong Kong as a

stipendiary magistrate Stipendiary magistrates were magistrates that were paid for their work (they received a stipend). They existed in the judiciaries of the United Kingdom and those of several former British territories, where they sat in the lowest-level criminal ...

and the president of the Tenancy Tribunals. He later became a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

in the

New Territories The New Territories (N.T., Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: ) is one of the three areas of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of H ...

in 1955, the First Magistrate of

Kowloon Kowloon () is one of the areas of Hong Kong, three areas of Hong Kong, along with Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. It is an urban area comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It has a population of 2,019,533 and a populat ...

in 1956, and was promoted as a district judge in 1958.LUZZATTO, Rola, "HUGGINS, ALAN ARMSTRONG", ''Hong Kong Who's Who: An Almanac of Personalities and Their History, 1958–1960'', 1960. Huggins was appointed a

puisne judge Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in 1965."Statement by the Chief Justice", ''Press Release'', The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 15 December 2009. Hong Kong was then in a time of social instability, and at one point, his family received death threats and needed police protection after his winding-up of a local bank. In 1976, he was further promoted as a Justice of Appeal. Huggins had the opportunity to become the Chief Justice in 1979 when the seat was vacant, but the government selected then Chief Secretary, Sir Denys Roberts. Huggins was instead appointed a Vice-President of the Court of Appeal and became a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in 1980. He received the knighthood in person from

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

in the following year. Huggins served as the acting Chief Justice on a number of occasions during his capacity as the Vice-President and retired subsequently in 1987. Huggins was also the chairman of the Advisory Committee on Legal Education from 1972 to 1987 and an honorary lecturer at the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

from 1979 to 1987. Apart from his judicial career in Hong Kong, Huggins was the Judicial Commissioner in the Supreme Court of Brunei from 1966 to 1983. He remained in the same position until 1987 after the independence of Brunei from Britain in 1984.Horton, A.V.M., ''Negara Brunei Darussalam: Obituary 2009'', Borneo Research Bulletin, 2010. From 1991 to 2000, he was once again appointed as the Judicial Commissioner. He then became the President of the Court of Appeal of

from 2000 until 2002.Mohd Zulfadli Hj Abdul Hamid, ''The Passing of Sir Alan Armstrong Huggins'', 10 March 2010.

Later years

Huggins resided in Widdicombe, Devon, in his retirement but he was occasionally invited to serve as a Justice of Appeal for the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

, the British Antarctic Territory,

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, St Helena, the

British Indian Ocean Territory The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chago ...

and

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. After the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, Huggins, along with other colonial judges such as Sir Denys Roberts, Art McMullin, Sir Derek Cons and Sir Noel Power, was appointed as one of the first non-permanent Hong Kong judges of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, serving for a three-year term.''Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission Report 1997-2002'', The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2002. He later served for another three-year term from 2000 to 2003. Huggins died in Devon on 10 December 2009, aged 88. A memorial service was held in the St Michael and All Angels Church,

Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population ...

, on 29 December. Both the judiciaries of Hong Kong and Brunei mourned over the death of Huggins, with the Chief Justice of Hong Kong

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 Geoff ...

praised that he "won the respect and admiration of everyone through his legal learning, sense of justice and devotion to duty. He set the highest standards and applied himself tirelessly to maintain those standards at all times." Robert Ribeiro, a permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal, also paid tribute to Huggins, saying that "the widely shared sentiment in the legal community is that Hong Kong will always be grateful for the lasting contribution Sir Alan made to the foundations of our present system of law".

Personal life

Huggins married, firstly, Catherine Davidson Dick, in

Laleham Laleham is a village on the River Thames, in the borough of Spelthorne, about west of central London, England. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, it was transferred to Surrey in 1965. Laleham is downriver from Staines-upon-Thames a ...

, Surrey, on 2 December 1950. The couple had two sons and a daughter, namely, Adrian, Roger Davidson and Rosemary Anne. However, his first marriage ended in divorce. In 1985, he married, secondly, Elizabeth Low, in Hong Kong. The wedding ceremony was presided over by the Chief Justice, Sir Denys Roberts, in his official residence on the Peak. The second Lady Huggins died in 2007. Huggins was a lover of amateur dramatics. He played roles ranging from Shylock in '' The Merchant of Venice'' to the pantomime cow in ''

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale with ancient origins. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition :File:Round about our Coal Fire, or, Christmas Entertainments, 4th edn, 1734.pdf, On C ...

''. He was also a Christian of traditional religious beliefs, serving as an honorary governor of the British and Foreign Bible Society, a life member of the American Bible Society, president of the Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong and a diocesan reader of Hong Kong and Macao.

Honours

(1980)

Footnotes

References

* LUZZATTO, Rola, "HUGGINS, ALAN ARMSTRONG", ''Hong Kong Who's Who: An Almanac of Personalities and Their History, 1958–1960'', 1960. * "Issue 48599", ''London Gazette'', 1 May 1981, p. 1. * SINCLAIR, Kevin, "HUGGINS, Alan Armstrong (Sir)", ''Who's Who in Hongkong'', Database Publication, 1984. * "Statement by the Chief Justice", ''Press Release'', The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 15 December 2009
website
* ''Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission Report 1997-2002'', The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2002
online version
* Horton, A.V.M., ''Negara Brunei Darussalam: Obituary 2009'', Borneo Research Bulletin, 201
website
* "Sir Alan Huggins: colonial judge", ''The Times'', 11 January 2010
website
* "Sir Alan Huggins", ''The Daily Telegraph'', 8 February 2010

* Mohd Zulfadli Hj Abdul Hamid, ''The Passing of Sir Alan Armstrong Huggins'', 10 March 2010
website

External links

* HUGGINS, Sir Alan,
THE ECONOMICS OF JUSTICE, OR WHAT PRICE JUSTICE?
, 1982. *
Confession was evidence, rules Appeals Court judge
, ''The Royal Gazette'', 18 March 1995. *

", ''RTHK'', 15 December 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Huggins, Alan 1921 births 2009 deaths People educated at Radley College Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn Knights Bachelor Justices of the Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong) Uganda Protectorate judges British colonial judges in Asia British judges on the courts of Brunei British Hong Kong judges British expatriates in Brunei British expatriates in Uganda British expatriates in Hong Kong