Arthur Leong
GBS (1936–2010) was a judge in Hong Kong. He was
Chief Judge of the
High Court of Hong Kong from 2000 to 2003.
Early life
Leong completed his secondary education at
Wah Yan College, Kowloon
Wah Yan College Kowloon (WYK; ; demonym: ''Wahyanite'', pl.: ''Wahyanites'') is a Catholic secondary school for boys run by the Chinese Province of the Society of Jesus. It is located in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and is a grant-in-aid secondary sc ...
.
He joined the Hong Kong Government in 1954 and for 9 years between 1954 and 1963, he worked successively in the then
Prisons Department, the
Royal Observatory and the Labour Department. In 1963, he resigned from the government to qualify as a
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
in England. He was called to the bar of the
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...
in 1965.
Legal career
Leong started his legal career in the
Legal Department and was soon promoted to
Crown Counsel. During that time he was engaged for some time as a law draftsman.
In 1973 he was appointed 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 ...
. He also sat for a time as Presiding Officer at the Labour Tribunal.
In 1982, he was promoted as a judge of the District Court of Hong Kong. He became a judge of the
Supreme Court of Hong Kong in 1991 and was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 1997. The Supreme Court of Hong Kong was renamed the High Court of Hong Kong when Hong Kong was returned to China on 1 July 1997.
Leong was due to retire in 2000, but was appointed
Chief Judge of the High Court of Hong Kong in that year and had his term of office extended for 2 and a half years.
He retired from the judiciary in July 2003. In a retirement speech, the Chief Justice
Andrew Li said of Leong:
"As a Judge, Mr Justice Leong was versatile. His important contribution covered a wide field, including both civil and criminal cases, and embraces both trial work at all levels and in recent years, appellate work. He has made a particularly significant contribution to the development of the bilingual capacity of our courts. In relation to the use of Chinese, his work has been of pivotal importance."
Post-retiremement
Leong remained active in retirement. In 2003 he was appointed chairman of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
He later served as Chief Adjudicator of the Immigration Tribunal and as Chairman of the Post-Release Supervision Board.
In 2006, he sat as a
Deputy High Court Judge.
Awards
In 2003, Justice Leong was awarded the
Gold Bauhinia Star, one of the highest honours given by the
HKSAR Government.
Death
Leong died in August 2010.
RTHK report: "Former High Court Judge Dies" 13 August 2010
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leong, Arthur
Hong Kong judges
Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star
1936 births
2010 deaths
British Hong Kong judges
Justices of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong