I have just returned from the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) conference in Malta, which was my first overseas trip since assuming the chairmanship of the Hong Kong Bar Association. The CLA, which is governed by a council drawn from some of the most senior legal professionals in the Commonwealth, was one of many that spoke…
And then there were five. The pool of eminent foreign judges sitting on Hong Kong’s top court, once of Olympic proportions, continues to evaporate. It is now little more than a puddle. The latest judge to depart is Robert French, the former chief justice of Australia’s High Court. His resignation is a blow to the…
A United States Border Patrol agent pleaded guilty in federal court to having told multiple women to expose their breasts during interviews to gain admission to the country. Shane Millan, 53, was charged in August 2024 with four misdemeanor counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, according to court records reviewed by USA…
Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. President Donald Trump has set Elon Musk loose on the executive branch, to stunning early effect. Musk controls the government’s payment system and may block payments he deems wasteful. He has claimed credit for unilaterally shutting…
Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs (widely referred to as DEIA) have been a central theme in the early days of the second Trump administration, including in a shameful and fact-free rant…
Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Elon Musk’s “Fork in the Road” email offering 2.3 million federal civil servants a “deferred resignation” through September set off a number of legal questions this country has never been forced to consider, and…
The reputation of Hong Kong’s legal system is of paramount importance as the city seeks to forge international ties and attract talent, tourists and investment in the Year of the Snake. Leading lights of the profession used the ceremonial opening of the legal new year to express defiance in the face of a barrage of…
The opening of the new legal year, with judges resplendent in their ceremonial wigs and gowns, symbolises the continuity of Hong Kong’s justice system and its time-honoured traditions. Leaders of the profession yesterday underlined the importance of continued adherence to fundamental principles as the city faces fresh challenges. The chief justice, secretary for justice and…
China’s judges and prosecutors must pay more attention to solving conflicts and ensuring fairness rather than just closing cases, a senior judicial official said in a rare commentary, as authorities reflect on a string of mass killings in recent weeks. Wang Chengguo, secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Zhejiang province, wrote in…
Four Hong Kong opposition figures who were jailed for more than six years after being found guilty of subversion in the city’s biggest national security trial have become the first batch to appeal against their convictions and sentences. Activist Owen Chow Ka-shing, former Democratic Party lawmaker Helena Wong Pik-wan, former district councillor Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying…