Geoffrey Ma
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Geoffrey Ma
Geoffrey Ma Tao-li (; born 11 January 1956) is a retired Hong Kong judge who served as the 2nd Chief Justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal— the court of last resort (or supreme court) in Hong Kong. Between 2001 and 2010, he held various positions in the High Court of Hong Kong, including Chief Judge, Justice of Appeal, and Judge of the Court of First Instance. Before his judicial career, he was a barrister-at-law in private practice at Temple Chambers, and was qualified to practice in England and Wales, Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore. Early life and education Ma was born in Hong Kong in 1956, the son of an electrical engineer who was educated at the Engineering Faculty of The University of Hong Kong, but his family originally hails from Tianjin. His ancestors were adherents of the Muslim faith, and his great-grandfather had been the imam in the Muslim community in Shanghai before the war. Mr Ma's parents moved to Hong Kong in the late 1940s, but in the 1960s ...
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Ma (surname)
Ma () is a Chinese family name. The surname literally means "horse". As of 2006, it ranks as the 14th most common Chinese surname in Mainland China and the most common surname within the Islam in China, Chinese Muslim community, specifically the Hui people, Dongxiangs, Dongxiang people and Salar people. In 2019 it was the 13th most common surname in Mainland China. A 2013 study found it to be the 13th most common, shared by 17,200,000 people or 1.290% of the population, with the province with the most being Henan. It is the 52nd name on the ''Hundred Family Surnames'' poem.K. S. Tom. [1989] (1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom. University of Hawaii Press. . The offspring of Zhao She adopted "Ma" (馬), the first word of the district Ma Fu, as their surname. Other romanizations include Mah, Beh and Mar. Hui people, Hui Muslims, Salar people, Salars, Bonan people, Bonan and Dongxiangs, Dongxiang people commonly adopted Ma as the translation for ...
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Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility and arguments of the parties, and then issues a ruling in the case based on their interpretation of the law and their own personal judgment. A judge is expected to conduct the trial impartially and, typically, in an open court. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. In some jurisdictions, the judge's powers may be shared with a jury. In inquisitorial systems of criminal investigation, a judge might also be an examining magistrate. The presiding judge ensures that all court proceedings are lawful and orderly. Powers and functions The ultimate task of a judge is to settle a legal dispute in a final and publicly lawful manner in agreement with substantial p ...
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Right Of Abode In Hong Kong
Right of abode in Hong Kong entitles a person to live and work in the territory without any restrictions or conditions of stay. Someone who has that right is a Hong Kong permanent resident. Foreign nationals may acquire the right of abode after meeting a seven-year residency requirement and are given most rights usually associated with citizenship, including the right to vote in regional elections. However, they are not entitled to hold territorial passports or stand for office in some Legislative Council constituencies, unless they also naturalise as Chinese citizens. As a special administrative region of China, Hong Kong does not have its own nationality law and natural-born residents are generally Chinese citizens. Prior to 1997, the territory was a colony of the United Kingdom and right of abode was tied to British nationality law. Although Hong Kong, mainland China, and Macau constitute a single country, local residents with Chinese citizenship do not have automatic re ...
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Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen regnant, queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or advocate) who is typically a senior trial lawyer. Technically appointed by the monarch of the country to be one of 'His [Her] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law', the position originated in England and Wales. Some Commonwealth countries have either abolished the position, or renamed it so as to remove monarchical connotations, for example, 'Senior counsel' or 'Senior Advocate'. Appointment as King's Counsel is an office, conferred by the Crown, that is recognised by courts. Members have the privilege of sitting within the inner Bar (law), bar of court. As members wear silk gowns of a particular design (see court dress), appointment as King's Counsel is known informally as ''rec ...
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State Of Victoria
Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Australia (28 per km2). Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north and South Australia to the west, and is bounded by the Bass Strait to the south (with the exception of a small land border with Tasmania located along Boundary Islet), the Great Australian Bight portion of the Southern Ocean to the southwest, and the Tasman Sea (a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean) to the southeast. The state encompasses a range of climates and geographical features from its temperate coastal and central regions to the Victorian Alps in the northeast and the semi-arid north-west. The majority of the Victorian population is concentrated in the central-south area surrounding Port Phillip Bay, and in particular within the metropolitan area o ...
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Barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and giving expert legal opinions. Barristers are distinguished from both solicitors and chartered legal executives, who have more direct access to clients, and may do transactional legal work. It is mainly barristers who are appointed as judges, and they are rarely hired by clients directly. In some legal systems, including those of Scotland, South Africa, Scandinavia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, the word ''barrister'' is also regarded as an honorific title. In a few jurisdictions, barristers are usually forbidden from "conducting" litigation, and can only act on the instructions of a solicitor, and increasingly - chartered legal executives, who perform tasks such ...
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Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these inns. Located at the intersection of High Holborn and Gray's Inn Road in Central London, the Inn is a professional body and provides office and some residential accommodation for barristers. It is ruled by a governing council called "Pension," made up of the Masters of the Bench (or "benchers,") and led by the Treasurer, who is elected to serve a one-year term. The Inn is known for its gardens (the “Walks,”) which have existed since at least 1597. Gray's Inn does not claim a specific foundation date; none of the Inns of Court claims to be any older than the others. Law clerks and their apprentices have been established on the present site since at latest 1370, with records dating from 1381 ...
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Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor to the north. The country's territory is composed of one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet; the combined area of these has increased by 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the third highest population density in the world. With a multicultural population and recognising the need to respect cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the lingua franca and numerous public services are available only in Eng ...
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Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a Megadiverse countries, megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with Deserts of Australia, deserts in the centre, tropical Forests of Australia, rainforests in the north-east, and List of mountains in Australia, mountain ranges in the south-east. The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately Early human migrations#Nearby Oceania, 65,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Period, last i ...
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England And Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is English law. The devolved Senedd (Welsh Parliament; cy, Senedd Cymru) – previously named the National Assembly of Wales – was created in 1999 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under the Government of Wales Act 1998 and provides a degree of self-government in Wales. The powers of the Parliament were expanded by the Government of Wales Act 2006, which allows it to pass its own laws, and the Act also formally separated the Welsh Government from the Senedd. There is no equivalent body for England, which is directly governed by the parliament and government of the United Kingdom. History of jurisdiction During the Roman occupation of Britain, the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit, except f ...
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Temple Chambers
Temple Chambers is a set of barristers' chambers based in Admiralty, Hong Kong. It is widely considered to be the leading set of chambers in Hong Kong given its high ratio of senior counsel to juniors, as well as a strong history of appointments to key judicial and government roles. History Temple Chambers was founded in 1977 by Richard Mills-Owens QC, SC. Notable members Judiciary ''For the Judiciary, former Senior Counsel's are indicated by an asterisk (*).'' Court of Final Appeal * *The Honourable Mr Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li GBM – 2nd Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal ''(retired)'' * *The Honourable Mr Justice Roberto Alexandre Vieira Ribeiro GBM – Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal * *The Honourable Mr Justice Joseph Paul Fok – Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal High Court = Court of Appeal = * The Honourable Madam Justice Maria Candace Yuen Ka-ning – Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal * *The Honourable Mr Justi ...
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Barrister-at-law
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and giving expert legal opinions. Barristers are distinguished from both solicitors and chartered legal executives, who have more direct access to clients, and may do transactional legal work. It is mainly barristers who are appointed as judges, and they are rarely hired by clients directly. In some legal systems, including those of Scotland, South Africa, Scandinavia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, the word ''barrister'' is also regarded as an honorific title. In a few jurisdictions, barristers are usually forbidden from "conducting" litigation, and can only act on the instructions of a solicitor, and increasingly - chartered legal executives, who perform tasks such as corr ...
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