Posted on 06/10/2024 12:16:21 PM PDT by jerod
McLachlin has faced pressure to resign from court over concerns about eroding freedoms in Hong Kong
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, 80, joined the court in 2018. She said she'll be stepping down from the bench to spend more time with her family when her term ends on July 29, 2024.
"It has been a privilege serving the people of Hong Kong," McLachlin said in a media statement. "I continue to have confidence in the members of the court, their independence and their determination to uphold the rule of law."
The court was established in July 1997 to replace 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 over 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 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 he said were "related to the content of the national security legislation."
'The court is completely independent': McLachlin
Article 23 expanded the government's power to stamp out future challenges to its rule, allowing it to punish acts of treason or insurrection with sentences up to life imprisonment.The law also included stiff prison terms for other offences, including up to 20 years for espionage and up to 10 years for the unlawful disclosure of state secrets.
McLachlin has pushed back against critics who accuse the court of propping up the government in Hong Kong and contributing to an erosion of basic human rights and declining judicial independence...
Beverley McLachlin, former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, is retiring from the controversial Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. (Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press)
The news story says she was Critical of Article 23
Where does it say that McLachlin was critical of Article 23?
read it again
I did... Still can’t see it. Point it out to me.
“Since joining the court, ...”
Since joining the court, McLachlin has faced numerous calls to step down over criticism of Hong Kong's controversial national security law, passed in 2020, and Article 23, passed earlier this year.
She didn't criticize the decision. She joined the court in 2018 and was a member of the court when it passed the national security law in 2020 and Article 23 earlier this year... She faced numerous calls to step down over that decision... And she didn't. Rather she defended this court and still does...
"The court is completely independent of the regime in Hong Kong." Former Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin says she is '100 % satisfied' that in her role as a non-permanent judge on Hong Kong's highest court, she is not "doing anything negative to prop up that regime."
"It has been a privilege serving the people of Hong Kong," McLachlin said in a media statement. "I continue to have confidence in the members of the court, their independence and their determination to uphold the rule of law."
She's stepping down to spend time with her family...
McLachlin, 80, joined the court in 2018. She said she'll be stepping down from the bench to spend more time with her family when her term ends on July 29, 2024.
This woman believes in abortion, assisted suicide and propping up the Chinese communist regime, when other members of this same court from Australia and the UK resigned. Apparently, she doesn't believe biting the hand of the regime that paid her salary since 2018.
It is/was not apparent from the article that the COURT passed the national security law in 2020 and Article 23 earlier this year... One would not normally assume that to be the case. Maybe that is why this report is (intentionally?) undefined in that regard.
If your reading is correct then I stand corrected.
No probs... She’s a diehard commie sympathizer, that’s why the Chinese put her on the court.
yep, that makes more sense now as an explanation,
especially since the story was from (and occluded by) the CBC.
School children sang anthem too softly - Hong Kong
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cl5y3d0dzk4o
“Officials said students’ voices at the Hong Kong and Macau Lutheran Church Primary School were “soft and weak” and “should be strengthened”.
...
“[Red] China implemented a law which requires schools, including those in Hong Kong, to include “patriotic education” in their curriculum and companies to do the same in their operations...aimed at “unifying thoughts” and “gathering strength for building a strong country”.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.