Immigration, Torture Claimants and Right to Family Life

A good measure of the strength of the rule of law and independence of the judiciary of a society is how the poor, those on the fringe of society, immigrants and refugees are treated before the law. For very practical reasons, Hong Kong, though a diverse, international city with a strong immigrant history, adopts a strict, stringent immigration policy, particularly in the face of very substantial numbers of illegal immigrants and torture claimants. Nonetheless, the Hong Kong courts have always dealt with the many legal challenges by unsuccessful immigrants and those liable to be deported with great care.

This talk examined how the Hong Kong courts have grappled in recent years with the many complicated legal issues concerning the Basic Law as well as international instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention Against Torture, raised in these cases. The talk also touched on the interesting question of whether the right to raise a family guaranteed under article 37 of the Basic Law includes the right to be raised, or more precisely, the right to be raised in Hong Kong, in the context of immigration.

Mr Justice Cheung graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1983 from the University of Hong Kong and a Postgraduate Certificate in Laws in 1984. In 1985, he obtained a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School. He was called to the Hong Kong Bar in the same year, and in 1995 he was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore. Mr Justice Cheung was in private practice in Hong Kong before joining the Judiciary as a District Judge in June 2001. Mr Justice Cheung was appointed Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2003, the Probate Judge in 2004 and the Judge in charge of the Constitutional and Administrative Law List in 2008. In 2011, Mr Justice Cheung was appointed the Chief Judge of the High Court and became the President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court. Mr Justice Cheung has been appointed as a permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal with effect from late October this year.