Highlights of Events in 2019

Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
January
8An eight-member delegation from the Ministry of Justice led by Mr FU Zhenghua, Minister of Justice, visited the Judiciary
12The term of office of the Rt Hon the Lord HOFFMANN, Non-Permanent Judge from another common law jurisdiction of the Court of Final Appeal, was extended for a period of three years
14The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA officiated at the ceremonial opening of the 2019 Legal Year
14The Hon Mr Justice H C AU, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, was appointed Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court
14His Honour Judge Tony POON, Chief District Judge, Her Honour Judge Marlene NG and His Honour Judge Alex LEE, District Judges, were appointed Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
14His Honour Judge C K CHAN, District Judge, was appointed Principal Family Court Judge
16An eight-member delegation led by Mr CHEN Haiguang, Director of the Judges Management Division of the Supreme People’s Court, visited the Judiciary
24The Hon Mr Justice Jonathan R HARRIS, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the Conference on Cross-Border Bankruptcy (Liquidation) between the Mainland and Hong Kong SAR in Beijing
24A five-member delegation of the HKSAR Basic Law Committee visited the Judiciary
29Mr LIU Daqun, Judge of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, the United Nations, visited the Judiciary

February
1Dr Rita RAMALHO, Senior Manager, Global Indicators Group, the World Bank Group, the United States, visited the Judiciary
14-16The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA, the Hon Mr Justice R A V RIBEIRO, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, and the Hon Mr Justice Peter NG, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the Sixth Judicial Seminar on Commercial Litigation held in Sydney, Australia
22An 11-member delegation from the Supreme People’s Court and the Higher People’s Court of Guangdong Province visited the Judiciary
24The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA acted as a judge for the JESSUP International Law Moot Court Competition 2019 (the Hong Kong Rounds)

March
1Mr POW Wing-nin, Jason, SC; and Mr Anthony Kenneth HOUGHTON, SC were re-appointed Recorders of the Court of First Instance of the High Court for a period of three years
1A 38-member delegation from the Office of the Judiciary of Thailand visited the Judiciary
4-7The Hon Mr Justice Tony POON, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, visited the Judicial College, England and Wales and attended the Business of Judging Seminar in the United Kingdom
14The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA delivered the lecture on “Limits and Limitations: How effective are the Courts in the Protection of Human Rights?” at the University of Zurich, Switzerland
20A 20-member delegation from the Harvard Asia Law Society visited the Judiciary
27A six-member delegation led by Mr XIONG Xuanguo, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, visited the Judiciary
28A group of 21 Mainland judges attending the 5th and 6th Doctor of Juridical Science Programme for Chinese Senior Judges of the City University of Hong Kong visited the Judiciary
29The Hon Madam Justice Bebe CHU, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the 2019 Singapore Family Mediation Symposium held in Singapore
31.3-2.4The Hon Mr Justice Jonathan R HARRIS, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the Thirteenth Multinational Judicial Colloquium on Insolvency and the Offshore Meeting of the International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals (“INSOL”) International in Singapore

April
1The Hon Madam Justice Susan KWAN, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court, was appointed Vice-President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court
1The Hon Madam Justice K Y WONG, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, was appointed President, Lands Tribunal
2The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA and the Hon Mr Justice R A V RIBEIRO, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, were conferred to the degrees of Doctor of Laws honoris causa at the 201st Congregation of the University of Hong Kong. The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA delivered the acceptance speech on behalf of the honorary graduates at the congregation
2Mr Russell Adam COLEMAN, SC was appointed Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
2A six-member delegation led by Mr YANG Wanming, Vice- President of the Supreme People’s Court, visited the Judiciary
8-12The Hon Mr Justice Jeremy POON, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court, and the Hon Mr Justice Godfrey LAM, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the 21st Commonwealth Law Conference held in Livingstone, Zambia
17A five-member delegation led by Mr DENG Zhonghua, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, visited the Judiciary
17The Hon Mr Justice Jeremy POON, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court, attended the International Dispute Resolution Conference 2019 jointly organised by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, Hong Kong Mediation Centre and International Dispute Resolution & Risk Management Institute
23-26The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA delivered the Inaugural Caius Mok Law Lecture entitled “The Endless Search for the Right Answer: European Legal Principles as applied in Hong Kong” at the University of Cambridge. He also gave a talk at the lunch organised by the Hong Kong Association in London, the United Kingdom

May
21Members from the Legislative Council Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services visited the Judiciary
22The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA delivered a speech entitled “Understanding the Legal Fundamentals in Dealing with Corruption” at the 7th ICAC Symposium
27A group of 25 Mainland judges attending the 14th Advanced Programme for Chinese Senior Judges of the City University of Hong Kong visited the Judiciary
27-30The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA and the Hon Mr Justice R A V RIBEIRO, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, attended the Asia-Pacific Judicial Colloquium 2019 held in Singapore
30-31The Hon Madam Justice Queeny AU-YEUNG, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the 9th Annual Competition Law Seminar for Asia-Pacific Judges in Bangkok, Thailand

June
16-18The Hon Mr Justice Jonathan R HARRIS, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the International Insolvency Institute’s 19th Annual Conference in Barcelona, Spain
17A four-member delegation led by Mr Frédéric VAN LEEUW, Belgian Federal Prosecutor, visited the Judiciary
19A six-member delegation led by Mr YE Liudong, President of Guangzhou Maritime Court, visited the Judiciary
22The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA presided over the 2019 Senior Counsel Admission Ceremony
24-28The Hon Mr Justice Godfrey LAM, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, visited the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London, the United Kingdom

July
16A seven-member delegation led by Mr HAN Deyang, President of the Higher People’s Court of Guizhou Province, visited the Judiciary
22The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA delivered closing remarks at the inaugural seminar – “International Dispute Resolution: Reflections and Redirections” jointly organised by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law and the Chinese University of Hong Kong
29The terms of office of the Hon Mr Justice James SPIGELMAN and the Hon Mr Justice William GUMMOW, Non-Permanent Judges from other common law jurisdictions of the Court of Final Appeal, were extended for a period of three years
29Mr Keith YEUNG Kar-hung, SC was appointed Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court

August
1The Hon Mr Justice Godfrey LAM, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, was re-appointed President, Competition Tribunal and the Hon Madam Justice Queeny AU-YEUNG, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, was re-appointed Deputy President, Competition Tribunal
12-16The Hon Mr Justice Tony POON, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court; His Honour Judge Justin KO, Acting Chief District Judge; Master HUI Ka-ho, Temporary Deputy Registrar of the High Court; Mr Victor SO Wai-tak, Acting Chief Magistrate and Master Simon LUI, Temporary Registrar of the District Court, visited various courts in Perth and Sydney, Australia to enhance understanding on how court case management can be improved through application of information technology
18-20The Hon Mr Justice LOK, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court and His Honour Judge Kent YEE, District Judge, attended an international forum on intellectual property matters in Guangzhou
21Mr LIN Kam-hung, Ernest Michael; Mrs TSE CHING Adriana Noelle and Mr PANG Ka-kwong were appointed District Judges
28A twelve-member delegation led by Mr. Mohd Nadzri bin ABDUL RAHMAN, the Honourable Chief Justice of the Syariah Court of Malacca, Malaysia, visited the Judiciary

September
1The term of office of the Hon Mr Justice Frank STOCK, Non-Permanent Hong Kong Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, was extended for a period of three years
9-11The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA; the Hon Mr Justice Andrew CHEUNG, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal; the Hon Mr Justice Jeremy POON, Acting Chief Judge of the High Court; the Hon Madam Justice Carlye CHU, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court; the Hon Mr Justice Tony POON, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court; His Honour Judge Justin KO, Acting Chief District Judge; and Mr Victor SO Wai-tak, Acting Chief Magistrate, attended the “Fifth Seminar of Senior Judges of Cross-Strait and Hong Kong and Macao” in Zhanjiang
11-13The Hon Mr Justice R A V RIBEIRO, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, attended the Global Constitutionalism Seminar 2019 held at the Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, the United States
22-26The Hon Mr Justice Tony POON, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the 9th International Conference on the Training of the Judiciary of the International Organisation for Judicial Training in Cape Town, South Africa
23-26The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA delivered a speech entitled “Hong Kong and the Rule of Law: Is it Tangible?” at the Asia-Pacific Regional Forum Lunch in the International Bar Association Annual Conference 2019 in Seoul, Korea. The Hon Chief Justice MA also gave a lecture at the Seoul National University. The Hon Mr Justice Joseph FOK, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, delivered a speech entitled “Judges from other common law jurisdictions in the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal” at the conference. The Hon Mr Justice Kevin Paul ZERVOS, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court also spoke at the conference
30.9-2.10The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA; the Hon Mr Justice Joseph FOK, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal; the Hon Mr Justice Jeremy POON, Acting Chief Judge of the High Court; the Hon Mr Justice Wally YEUNG, 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 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing

October
7-11The Hon Madam Justice Mimmie CHAN and the Hon Mr Justice David LOK, Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, visited the Court of Appeal, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, the Patents Court, and the Commercial Court in London, the United Kingdom
8Mr CHAN Kam-chuen and Ms Phoebe MAN Ho-yee were appointed District Judges
16The Hon Mr Justice Jonathan R HARRIS, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the 3rd International Conference on Market-Orientated Bankruptcy in Shenzhen
18The Hon Mr Justice Jeremy POON, Acting Chief Judge of the High Court, attended the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission ("CIETAC")’s Inaugural Greater Bay Area Summit
18A group of 21 Mainland judges attending the 15th Advanced Programme for Chinese Senior Judges of the City University of Hong Kong visited the Judiciary
21The term of office of the Hon Mr Justice Patrick CHAN, Non-Permanent Hong Kong Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, was extended for a period of three years
22The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA delivered closing remarks at the ADR in Asia Conference: Arbitrating for Settlement
30The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA delivered a speech entitled “Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Leaders” at the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools 55th Anniversary Education Colloquium 2019

November
4The Hon Mr Justice Andrew CHEUNG, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, attended the 3rd United Nations Commission on International Trade Law ("UNCITRAL") Asia Pacific Judicial Summit 2019
5The Hon Mr Justice Barnabas FUNG and the Hon Mr Justice Jonathan R HARRIS, Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the 3rd United Nations Commission on International Trade Law ("UNCITRAL") Asia Pacific Judicial Roundtable
6&8The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA gave a speech at the Opening Ceremony of the 32nd LAWASIA Conference. The Hon Mr Justice Aarif T BARMA, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court; and the Hon Mr Justice Russell A COLEMAN, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court also attended the Conference
7The Hon Mr Justice Jonathan R HARRIS, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, attended the International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals ("INSOL") International Tokyo One Day Seminar in Tokyo, Japan
27Mr Jonathan HATWELL, Head of Division, China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Mongolia, European External Action Service, European Commission, European Union, visited the Judiciary

December
8The Hon Mr Justice Wally YEUNG, Vice-President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court, attended a Forum on Case Law and Guiding Cases System in Beijing co-organised by the National Judges College and the City University of Hong Kong
13The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the Ceremony on the Nanjing Massacre National Memorial Day
18The Rt Hon Lord Jonathan SUMPTION was appointed Non-Permanent Judge from another common law jurisdiction of the Court of Final Appeal
18The Hon Mr Justice Jeremy POON, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court, was appointed Chief Judge of the High Court
18Ms Linda CHAN, SC was appointed Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
19The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey MA attended the 2019 Law Society Pro Bono and Community Service Award Presentation Ceremony
20A four-member delegation from the Shanghai High People’s Court, Shanghai Financial Court, Pudong New Area People’s Court of Shanghai and Huangpu District People’s Court of Shanghai, visited the Judiciary