The former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada,
Beverley McLachlin, has announced her retirement from the
controversial Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. McLachlin,
who joined the court in 2018, said she'll be stepping down
from the bench "to spend more time with her family" when her
term on the court ends on July 29, 2024.
The court was established in July 1997, replacing the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London as the
highest appellate court in the former British colony, now a
special administrative region of China. The court can have
up to 30 non-permanent judges at any one time. At
present there are three non-permanent Hong Kong judges and
12 non-permanent common-law judges, including McLachlin.
Since joining the court, McLachlin has faced numerous
calls to step down amid criticism
of Hong Kong's controversial national security law, passed
in 2020, and Article 23, passed earlier this year. The 2020
national security law covered four areas of criminal
activity: secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion
with foreign or external forces. Those convicted of such
crimes face maximum sentences of life imprisonment.
The law also allowed for China to establish a national
security agency in Hong Kong that is not under the
jurisdiction of the Hong Kong government. After it was
passed, Australian Judge James Spigelman resigned from the
court for reasons "related to the content of the national
security legislation."
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