Sir Derek Cons (born 15 July 1928) is a retired

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colonial

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 an ...

who was one of the three Vice-Presidents of the

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of the

Supreme Court of Hong Kong The Supreme Court of Hong Kong was the highest court in Hong Kong prior to the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China in 1997 and heard cases of first instance and appeals from the Di ...

from 1986 to 1993. Cons was called to the bar at

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in 1953 after he was graduated from the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. He joined the

Judiciary of Hong Kong 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 ...

in 1955 as a

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and was promoted as a District Judge in 1966 and a

Puisne Judge A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

of the Supreme Court in 1972. During his long judicial career in Hong Kong, he presided over a large number of civil and criminal trials. Notable examples include the drug dealing case of

Ng Sik-ho Ng Sik-ho (, 1930 – September 8, 1991), also known as "Crippled Ho" or "Limpy Ho" () was a prominent Hong Kong drug lord and triad boss. Biography Ng, born in 1930, was of Teochew origin. Ng earned his nickname of "Crippled Ho" or "Limpy Ho" ...

, notoriously known as "Limpy Ho", who was heavily sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment in 1975, as well as the case of Sit Ping, a reporter of

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who was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in 1967 for his involvement in illegal assemblies and aggressive acts during the leftist riots. In 1971, he was appointed by the government to chair a commission of inquiry to investigate the disastrous fire which took place on board the

Jumbo Floating Restaurant Jumbo Kingdom () consisted of the Jumbo Floating Restaurant () and the adjacent Tai Pak Floating Restaurant (), which were tourist attractions in Aberdeen South Typhoon Shelter, within Hong Kong's Aberdeen Harbour. During its 44 years of opera ...

. Cons was promoted to the Court of Appeal as a Justice of Appeal in 1980, becoming a Vice-President in 1986 and the Senior Vice-President the following year. As an expert of corporate and company law, he was, in addition to his duties in the Court of Appeal, the founding Chairman of the Standing Committee on Company Law Reform from 1984 to 1991 as well as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Legal Education from 1987 to 1993. As the judge with the highest seniority in the Judiciary, he was on the list to succeed the retiring Chief Justice, Sir Denys Roberts, in 1988. However, the opportunity was passed to

Sir Ti-liang Yang Sir Ti-liang Yang, (; born 30 June 1929) is a retired senior Hong Kong judge. He was the Chief Justice of Hong Kong from 1988–1996, the only ethnic Chinese person to hold this office during British colonial rule. He was a candidate in the ...

, another Vice-President who was an

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and was one year junior to him in terms of seniority. In recognition of his judicial services, he was knighted in 1990. Although Cons retired from the Hong Kong Judiciary in 1993, he continued to serve as a Judicial Commissioner of the

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on part-time basis. He was subsequently appointed as one of the first Non-Permanent Hong Kong Judges of the

Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA or CFA) is the final appellate court of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, upon the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, replacing the Judicial Committee of t ...

in 1997, as well as the President of the Court of Appeal of Brunei in 2003. In 2000 and 2006 in Brunei, he twice took part in the trials of

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, younger brother of

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Hassanal Bolkiah Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III ( Jawi: ; born 15 July 1946) is the 29th and current Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei since 1967 and the Prime Minister of Brunei since independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. He is one ...

, who was accused of embezzling £8 billion from the government. Cons formally relinquished his positions from the Hong Kong and Brunei Judiciaries in 2006, marking the end of his 51-year long judicial career.

References

Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal - Former Judges - Sir Derek Cons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cons, Derek 1928 births Living people Hong Kong judges Knights Bachelor Members of Gray's Inn Alumni of the University of Birmingham British expatriates in Hong Kong