Andrew Cheung Kui-nung (; born 24 September 1961) is a Hong Kong judge who serves as the 3rd

Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal 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 and the President of the Court of Final Appeal. The chief justice is one of fo ...

. 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 Ying Wa College (YWC, ), formerly known as Anglo-Chinese College, is a direct subsidized boys' secondary school in Kowloon, Hong Kong, near Nam Cheong station. Established in 1818 in Malacca as the Anglo-Chinese College by Rev. Robert Morr ...

, before reading law 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 ...

and taking a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degree at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in the United States. Cheung served briefly as a Lecturer and Demonstrator of the

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

of the University of Hong Kong on a part-time basis after graduation.

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 Henry Denis Litton GBM, CBE, SC ( Chinese: 烈顯倫; born 7 August 1934) is a retired judge in Hong Kong. Early life and education Born into a Eurasian family in Hong Kong, Henry Litton excelled in school during his early years first at th ...

. His practice mainly involved civil and commercial cases. In 1995, he was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore.

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 A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

of the High Court in 2003. He was then appointed as the

Probate In common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal will, the e ...

Judge in 2004, before becoming the Judge in charge of the Constitutional and Administrative Law List of the High Court in 2008. His tenure was marked by a number of high-profile rulings relating to constitutional and human rights matters. In June 2011, Cheung succeeded Geoffrey Ma as the Chief Judge of the High Court and 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 ...

, 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 Henry Tang Ying-yen (; born 6 September 1952) is a Hong Kong politician who served as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong between 2007 and 2011. He held the position of Financial Secretary from 2003 to 2007. In 2012, he lost the Hong Kong Chief ...

, 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. He was elected an Honorary

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

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 2017. On 21 March 2018, the

Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

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 Beverley Marian McLachlin (born September 7, 1943) is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th chief justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the ...

as Non-Permanent Judges of the city's top court. 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 The Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC, ) is a statutory body in Hong Kong responsible for advising and making recommendations to the Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing d ...

, which makes recommendations to the

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

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

. Cheung was announced as the 3rd

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. In May 2023, the

Congressional-Executive Commission on China The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) is an independent agency of the U.S. government which monitors human rights and rule of law developments in the People's Republic of China. The commission was given the mandate by the U.S. C ...

(CECC) of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

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 Lai Chee-ying ( zh, t=黎智英; born 8 December 1947), also known as Jimmy Lai, is a Hong Kong businessman and politician. He founded Giordano (clothing), Giordano, an Asian clothing retailer, Next Digital (formerly Next Media), a Hong Kon ...

's national security law case.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheung, Andrew Living people 1961 births Alumni of the University of Hong Kong Harvard Law School alumni Chief justices of the Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)