Leslie Gibson Chief Justice of Hong Kong

Sir Leslie Bertram Gibson (14 May 189621 September 1952) was a British lawyer and judge. He was Chief Justice of Hong Kong in the late 1940s.

Early life

Gibson was the son of George F Gibson of

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

. He was educated at

King Henry VIII School, Coventry King Henry VIII School is a coeducational private day school located in Coventry, England, comprising a senior school (ages 11–18) and associated preparatory school (ages 3–11). The senior school has approximately 574 pupils (of which 167 a ...

. He obtained an

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

Service in Malaya

Gibson joined the Malayan Civil Service in 1920 and served in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

until 1937. He was at one time official assignee at

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. He also served 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 Assistant Legal Adviser,

. While working in Malaya, he studied for the bar and was called to the Bar of

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

in 1930.

Legal career

In 1937, Gibson joined the

Colonial Legal 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 in 1940 was appointed

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. He was made a

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1942. He served in that position until 1944 when he was appointed

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. In 1948, he was appointed Chief Justice of Hong Kong upon the transfer of Henry Blackall to Africa. Gibson was knighted in the same year. In 1950, he returned to England, where he was appointed legal adviser to the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

Administration of African Territories. In 1951, he was appointed assistant legal adviser, Colonial Office and Commonwealth Relations Office.

Death

Gibson died on 21 September 1952 in

Godalming Godalming ( ) is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settl ...

, Surrey.The Straits Times, 24 September 1952, Page 8

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Leslie Bertram 1896 births 1952 deaths Alumni of the University of London British Hong Kong judges Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong Knights Bachelor People educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry 20th-century King's Counsel Attorneys-general of Mandatory Palestine People from British Malaya Attorneys general of British Trinidad and Tobago Colonial Legal Service officers Malayan Civil Service officers