Britain is withdrawing its judges from Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal in response to the national security laws imposed on the former British colony by China. 

On Wednesday, Supreme Court President Lord Robert Reed and Vice-President Lord Patrick Hodge resigned from Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal immediately. 

“I have concluded, in agreement with the government, that the judges of the Supreme Court cannot continue to sit in Hong Kong without appearing to endorse an administration which has departed from values of political freedom and freedom of expression,” Mr Reed said in a statement.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said it was “no longer tenable” to have British judges preside over the court, adding it witnessed “a systematic erosion of liberty and democracy.”

“The Foreign Secretary supports the withdrawal of serving UK judges from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal,” Ms Truss said in a statement. “Following discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor, and the President of the Supreme Court, it was agreed that it is no longer tenable for serving UK judges to sit on Hong Kong’s top court.” 

Hong Kong’s highest court, the Court of Final Appeal, is made up of permanent judges and other non-permanent judges from any Common Law jurisdiction. 

The jurisdictions include Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and judges from those countries have sat on the Court of Final Appeal as non-permanent judges. 

However, in 2020 an Australian judge quit the court, citing the content of the national security law. 

Australian judge James Spigelman was the first senior judge to resign and publicly refer to the law.  

The national security law punishes what China considers secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.