Highlights of Events 2009

The Hon Chief Justice Andrew Li declared opening of the 2009 Legal Year

A 40-member delegation from eight overseas law societies and bar associations visited the Judiciary

The Hon Mr Justice Michael J Hartmann, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court, and the Hon Mr Justice Darryl G Saw, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the Conference on Direct Judicial Communications on Family Law Matters and the Development of Judicial Networks in Brussels, Belgium

Her Honour Judge Sharon D Melloy, District Judge, visited the Principal Registry of the Family Division of the High Court in London, United Kingdom

Mr Simon Kwang, Acting Registrar of the Court of Final Appeal, attended the Special Commission Meeting on the Practical Operation of Four Hague Conventions in The Hague, the Netherlands

The Hon Mr Justice Henry Denis Litton, Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, gave a talk on "The Firm Habits of Highly Effective Judges" at the High Court

Mr Zhao Dacheng, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, the People's Republic of China, visited the Judiciary

A 10-member delegation of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China, visited the Judiciary

A 14-member delegation of Mainland judges visited the Judiciary

A six-member delegation from the Civil Justice Council, the United Kingdom, visited the Judiciary

A six-member delegation from Tianjian Municipal Supervision Bureau, the People's Republic of China, led by Chairman Mr Tang Hainan, visited the Judiciary

Judge Chuck Miller, Senior Trial and Appellate Judge on Assignment from the Texas Supreme Court, the United States, visited the Judiciary

Academics and anti-corruption experts from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Mainland and Macao visited the Judiciary

The Hon Chief Justice Andrew Li delivered opening remarks and chaired a discussion session at the Patron Chief Justices' Meeting of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute

The Hon Chief Justice Andrew Li delivered an opening address at the 16th Commonwealth Law Conference

The Hon Rob Hulls, Deputy Premier, Attorney-General and Minister for Racing of the State of Victoria, Australia, visited the Judiciary

The Hon Chief Justice Georgina T. Woods of Ghana visited the Judiciary

A 10-member delegation of judges from Ghana visited the Judiciary

A three-member delegation from the Singapore Legal Aid Bureau and the Ministry of Law visited the Judiciary

The Hon Mr Justice R A V Ribeiro, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, attended a conference on the 50th anniversary of the French National School for the Judiciary (L'Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature) in Bordeaux, France

His Honour Judge Kevin A Browne, District Judge, attended the Conference on Corporate Crime and the Credit Crunch in Dublin, Ireland

A 30-member delegation of Mainland judges studying for Master of Laws at the City University of Hong Kong visited the Judiciary

A 37-member delegation from the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges visited the Judiciary

The Hon Chief Justice Andrew Li attended the Qatar Law Forum in Doha, Qatar

The Hon Chief Justice Andrew Li; the Hon Mr Justice Patrick Chan, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal; the Hon Mr Justice Geoffrey Ma, Chief Judge of the High Court; the Hon Mr Justice Louis Tong and the Hon Mr Justice Andrew Cheung, Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, on the invitation of the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China, called on Mainland judges and visited courts at Shandong and Henan to exchange views and experiences

A five-member delegation from the Taiwan Judiciary visited the Judiciary

A 28-member delegation of Mainland judges attending the Advanced Programme for Chinese Senior Judges at the Law School of the City University of Hong Kong visited the Judiciary

The Hon Madam Justice Susan Kwan and the Hon Mr Justice Aarif T Barma, Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the Eighth Multinational Judicial Colloquium on Insolvency and INSOL 2009 Quadrennial Congress in Vancouver, Canada

The term of office of 12 Non-Permanent Judges of the Court of Final Appeal consisting of four Hong Kong judges and eight judges from other common law jurisdictions was extended for a period of three years:

Non-permanent Hong Kong Judges

Sir Noel Plunkett Power, GBS

Mr Gerald Paul Nazareth, GBS

Mr John Barry Mortimer, GBS

The Hon Henry Denis Litton, GBM

Non-permanent Judges from Other Common Law Jurisdictions

Mr Michael McHugh

The Rt. Hon Sir Thomas Munro Gault

The Hon Sir Anthony Mason

The Hon Sir Gerard Brennan

The Rt. Hon the Lord Millett

The Rt. Hon the Lord Woolf of Barnes

The Rt. Hon the Lord Scott of Foscote

The Rt. Hon the Lord Hoffmann

The Hon Mr Justice Frank Stock, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court, was appointed as Vice-President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court

Members of the Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services of the Legislative Council visited the Judiciary

A 13-member delegation of educators attending the Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Programme (Language Group) of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, the United States, visited the Judiciary

The Hon Mr Justice R A V Ribeiro, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, attended the Law Conference on Legal Boundaries, Common Problems and the Role of Supreme Courts in London, United Kingdom

A 11-member delegation of educators attending the Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Programme (History Group) of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, the United States, visited the Judiciary

The Hon Mr Justice Geoffrey Ma, Chief Judge of the High Court, gave a talk to the Law Reform Consultative Committee of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government in Macao

The Hon Mr Justice Peter Cheung, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court and Her Honour Judge Bebe Chu, District Judge, attended the International Family Justice Judicial Conference for Common Law and Commonwealth Jurisdictions in London, United Kingdom

The Hon Mr Justice K K Pang, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended a conference on "Anti-Torture and Judicial Reform in China" in Beijing

The Hon Chief Justice Andrew Li, on the invitation of the Chief Justice of Singapore, called on judges and visited various levels of court in Singapore. The Hon Chief Justice Andrew Li also delivered a talk on the Development of the Common Law in Hong Kong under "One Country, Two Systems" at the Singapore Academy of Law Annual Lecture 2009

Her Honour Judge Sharon D Melloy, District Judge, attended the Fifth World Congress on Family Law and Children's Rights in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

The Hon Chief Justice Andrew Li decided to take early retirement, ceasing service on 31.8.2010 and commencing pre-retirement leave on 1.9.2010

A 10-member delegation from five Mainland Justice Bureaux visited the Judiciary

A 45-member delegation of Mainland judges visited the Judiciary

A 13-member Guangdong-Hong Kong legal affairs study delegation, led by Mr Yang Rihua, Deputy Director-General, Department of Justice, Guangdong, the People's Republic of China, visited the Judiciary

Master Katina Levy, Deputy Registrar of the High Court, visited the High Court Registry of the United Kingdom

The Honourable Madam Justice Susan Kwan was appointed as Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court

His Honour Judge Anthony To, His Honour Judge Peter J Line, Her Honour Judge Maggie Poon, His Honour Judge Derek Pang, and His Honour Judge Colin R Mackintosh were appointed as Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court

Her Honour Judge Bebe Chu was appointed as Principal Family Court Judge

Mr Garry Tallentire, Mr Eddie Yip Chor-man, Mrs Katina Levy LAW Suet-mui, Mr Chan Chan-kok, Mr Simon Kwang Cheok-weung, Mr Albert Wong Sung-hau, Mr Frankie Yiu Fun-che, Mr Wong King-wah, Mr Poon Siu-tung, Mr Justin Ko King-sau and Mr Douglas Yau Tak-hong were appointed as District Judges

Mr Anthony Chow Siu-wo, Mr Anthony Kwok Kai-on and Mr TAM Lee-cheung were appointed as Principal Magistrates

Mr Raymond Wong Kwok-fai, Ms Chan Wai-mun and Miss Josephine Chow Pok-fun were appointed as Magistrates

The Hon Chief Justice Andrew Li; the Hon Mr Justice Geoffrey Ma, Chief Judge of the High Court; the Hon Mr Justice Anthony G Rogers, Vice-President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court and the Hon Mr Justice Barnabas Fung, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the celebrations of the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China in Beijing

The Hon Chief Justice Andrew Li attended the Opening Ceremony of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and took part in speaking engagements hosted by the University of Cambridge Hong Kong and China Affairs Society, the Hong Kong Society, the Committee of the Hong Kong Association, and the London School of Economics Student Union Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society in London, United Kingdom

An eight-member delegation from Supreme People's Court of People's Republic of China visited the Judiciary

A 20-member delegation from Dongguan Number Two People's Court of the People's Republic of China visited the Judiciary

A nine-member delegation from the Supreme Court of the Philippines visited the Judiciary

An eight-member delegation of officials from the Ministry of Justice, the People's Republic of China, visited the Judiciary

Judge Moshe Gal, Director of Courts in Israel and President of a District Court, together with another Israeli Judge visited the Judiciary

The Hon Chief Justice Andrew Li attended the 13th Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Mr Benjamin Yu, SC was re-appointed as Recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court

The Rt. Hon the Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe, Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, gave a talk on "The first nine years of the UK Human Rights Act" at the High Court

An 11-member delegation from the High People's Court of Guangdong Province visited the Judiciary

The Hon Mr Justice Anselmo F T Reyes, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the International Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Conference in Sydney, Australia

His Honour Judge H C Au was appointed as Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court

Mr Jonathan R Harris, SC was appointed as Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court

Mr Pang Ka-kwong, Mr Wong Lai-wing, Mr Dick Ho Chin-pang, Mr Simon Lui Kin-man, Mr Lawrence Yip Sue-pui, Mr So Wai-tak, Mr Cheung Kwan-ming, Mr Jason Wan Siu-ming and Miss Ivy Chui Yee-mei were appointed as Magistrates

The Hon Chief Justice Andrew Li delivered a keynote address on "Fighting Corruption under the Rule of Law" at the 4th ICAC Symposium

A 47-member delegation from the Hainan Provincial Procuratorate visited the Judiciary