Chief Judge of the High Court of Hong Kong
The Chief Judge of the High Court of Hong Kong is the head of the High Court of Hong Kong and the President of the Court of Appeal of Hong Kong. In the Hong Kong order of precedence, the Chief Judge acts as the second most senior administrative judge for the courts system, second only to the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong; the position is the broad equivalent of the Master of the Rolls in the courts system of England and Wales.
Jeremy Poon is the 5th and current Chief Judge of the High Court of Hong Kong, having taken up the post in December 2019.
Structure of the High Court of Hong Kong
The Chief Judge heads the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which deals with criminal and civil cases that have risen beyond the lower courts. While the High Court consists of the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance, the Chief Judge himself generally only presides over appellate cases in the Court of Appeal, usually together with two other Justices of Appeal. The Chief Judge also sits alone in the Court of First Instance to hear contested applications for the ad hoc admission of overseas counsel to the Hong Kong Bar.In accordance with the Basic Law, the Chief Judge is appointed by the Chief Executive based on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, and made official after receiving approval from the Legislative Council.
Roles and Duties of the Chief Judge
The Chief Judge is the Court Leader of the High Court and the President of the Court of Appeal. He is responsible for ensuring the 'efficient utilisation of judicial resources and court time, and for advising the Chief Justice on matters of policy concerning the operation and development of the High Court'. He has statutory powers and duties under various Ordinances, such as the Legal Practitioners Ordinance under which he has the power to admit barristers and solicitors, and for implementing Civil Justice Reform and the monitoring of the working of the reformed system. He is also in charge of approving foreign barristers to work on certain cases in Hong Kong, only when there is a sufficient need for their expertise that is unavailable in the local industry.From a judicial stand point, the role of the Chief Judge is no different from that of other Justice of Appeals, but comes with significant administrative responsibilities. This may lead to justices turning down the appointment; for example, after Andrew Cheung's promotion to the Court of Final Appeal, it was reported that the Chief Justice originally asked Johnson Lam to be Chief Judge. However, citing the increase in administrative responsibilities, he turned down this role, which ultimately went to Jeremy Poon. Geoffrey Ma, when he was Chief Judge, stated that he spent "less than 50% of his time in court" as most of his time was consumed over administrative issues.
As a Chief Judge is used to balancing hearing appeals with the administrative responsibilities, they are often seen as prime candidates for elevation to the role of Chief Justice. Aside from Andrew Li, every Chief Justice since has had experience as a Chief Judge of the High Court. Every Chief Judge has eventually been promoted to the Court of Final Appeal.
Acting Chief Judge
During a period of absence, an Acting Chief Judge of the High Court is appointed. In general, a Vice President of the Court of Appeal is appointed as Acting Chief Judge of the High Court. For example, when the position of Chief Judge of the High Court became vacant upon the appointment of Mr Justice Cheung as a Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, Mr Justice Yeung, VP was appointed as Acting Chief Judge of the High Court with effect from 25 October 2018 'until the vacancy therein is filled'. However, a Justice of Appeal may also be appointed as Acting Chief Judge of the High Court. For example, Mr Justice Barma, JA was appointed as Acting Chief Judge of the High Court on 26-27 December 2019. In court judgments and decisions, the Acting Chief Judge of the High Court is referred to as ' Ag CJHC'.Chief Judges of the High Court
| № | Name | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Tenure length | Higher education | Previous judicial roles | Reason for tenure end | Silk |
| 1 | Patrick Chan Siu-oi, GBM 陳兆愷 | 1 July 1997 | 31 August 2000 | University of Hong Kong | District Judge Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court Judge of the High Court of Justice | Appointed as 4th Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal | |||
| 2 | Arthur Leong Siu-chung, GBS 梁紹中 | 1 January 2001 | 13 July 2003 | City Law School | District Judge Judge of the High Court of Justice Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal | Retired | |||
| 3 | Geoffrey Ma Tao-li, GBM 馬道立 | 14 July 2003 | 31 August 2010 | University of Birmingham University of Law | Recorder of the Court of First Instance Judge of the Court of First Instance Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal | Appointed as 2nd Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal | QC | ||
| 4 | Andrew Cheung Kui-nung 張舉能 | 20 June 2011 | 24 October 2018 | University of Hong Kong Harvard Law School | District Judge Deputy High Court Judge Judge of the Court of First Instance | Appointed as 8th Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal | |||
| 5 | Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor 潘兆初 | 18 December 2019 | Incumbent | University of Hong Kong University College London | Permanent Magistrate Deputy Registrar of the High Court Judge of the Court of First Instance Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal |
For pre-1997 Chief Justices, see: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong