Clare-Marie Beeson, SBS () is a New Zealand-born lawyer who served as a judge in the Hong Kong Judiciary for over 29 years.

Early life and career

Beeson was born in 1948 in New Zealand. She was admitted as a solicitor and barrister in New Zealand in 1972 and was in private practice. In 1975, she joined the Hong Kong Legal Department as

Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Adv ...

and was promoted to Senior Crown Counsel in 1980.Daily Information Bulletin, Hong Kong Government Information Services, Jan 7, 1997

Judicial career

Beeson joined the Hong Kong Judiciary as 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 1984 and became principal magistrate in 1990. She was appointed a

District Court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

judge in 1991. On 7 January 1997, Beeson was appointed

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, the ...

, a position she had held in an acting capacity since 1995. Her appointment was described by the

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

as "controversial", citing previous allegations that she had tried to interfere with another judge's trial. An internal Judiciary inquiry later cleared her of wrongdoing in September 1996. On 1 December 1997, Beeson moved from her position as

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 of Hong Kong The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a part of the legal system of Hong Kong. It consists of the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance; it deals with criminal and civil cases which have risen beyond the ...

. In 2013, Beeson retired from the bench. She was awarded the

Silver Bauhinia Star The Silver Bauhinia Star (, SBS) is the second rank of the Order of the Bauhinia Star under the honours system of Hong Kong, awarded to people who have taken a leading part in public affairs or voluntary work over a long period. The award was ...

for her service in the Hong Kong Judiciary, particularly for her work presiding over serious criminal cases in the High Court. Between 2014 and 2016, Beeson sat as a Deputy Judge of the

Personal life

Beeson is married to Ian Wingfield, former Solicitor-General of Hong Kong. They have two daughters, Clarissa and Clementine Beeson.Birth Notice, South China Morning Post, Dec 28, 1991

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beeson, Clare-Marie 1948 births Living people Recipients of the Silver Bauhinia Star New Zealand judges on the courts of Hong Kong