Seabrook Chambers Lecture - 23.05.18
The Honourable Chief Justice Geoffrey MA Tao-li, GBM Chief Justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal presented on the topic "The common law in operation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: the Hong Kong story".
Since 1841, the common law system has been Hong Kong’s legal system. Some regard it as quite remarkable that such a system, with its roots in mediaeval England, Edward the Confessor and Magna Carta, should apply in a small region in the Far East. It is, however, even more astonishing to learn that this system, since 1997, still prevails in this most modern and financial of cities. Many interesting questions arise. Why was this system regarded as appropriate for Hong Kong when the rest of the country operates under a quite different system of law? And what are the characteristics of the common law system in Hong Kong? Is it largely the same system as exists in Australia, England and other established common law jurisdictions, or is Hong Kong different? The speaker, in the course of addressing these matters, focuses on the fundamentals of the common law, for it is always the fundamentals that will define the true nature and efficacy of any legal system.
This event was presented in conjunction with the Supreme Court Library Queensland and Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law.