Clare-Marie Beeson, SBS () is a New Zealand-born lawyer who served as a judge in the

Hong Kong Judiciary The Judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the judicial branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Under the Basic Law of Hong Kong, it exercises the judicial power of the Region and is independent of the exec ...

for over 29 years.

Early life and career

Beeson was born in 1948 in New Zealand. She was admitted as a solicitor and barrister in New Zealand in 1972 and was in private practice. In 1975, she joined the Hong Kong Legal Department as

Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

and was promoted to Senior Crown Counsel in 1980.Daily Information Bulletin, Hong Kong Government Information Services, Jan 7, 1997

Judicial career

Beeson joined the Hong Kong Judiciary as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

in 1984 and became principal magistrate in 1990. She was appointed a District Court judge in 1991. On 1 December 1997, Beeson moved from her position as

Chief District Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, t ...

to the

Court of First Instance A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance w ...

of the

High Court of Hong Kong The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a part of the legal system of Hong Kong. It consists of the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance; it deals with criminal and civil cases which have risen beyond the l ...

. In 2013, Beeson retired from the bench. She was awarded the

Silver Bauhinia Star The Silver Bauhinia Star (, SBS) is the second Bauhinia Star rank in the honours system of Hong Kong, awarded to people who have taken a leading part in public affairs or voluntary work over a long period. The award was created in 1997 to repla ...

for her service in the

, particularly for her work presiding over serious criminal cases in the High Court. Between 2014 and 2016, Beeson sat as a Deputy Judge of the

Personal life

Beeson is married to

Ian Wingfield Ian George McCurdy Wingfield GBS served as Solicitor General of Hong Kong from 2007 to 2010. Early life Wingfield was born in London and graduated from the University of East Anglia in 1970. Career Wingfield was called to the English Bar at In ...

, former Solicitor-General of Hong Kong. They have two daughters, Clarissa and Clementine Beeson.Birth Notice, South China Morning Post, Dec 28, 1991

References

Living people Recipients of the Silver Bauhinia Star Hong Kong judges 1948 births {{NewZealand-law-bio-stub