Maria Candace Yuen Ka-ning (; born 29 December 1953) is a Hong Kong

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 ...

. She has served as a Justice of Appeal of the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

since May 2002.

Education

Yuen was educated at

Sacred Heart Canossian College Sacred Heart Canossian College ( Chinese: 嘉諾撒聖心書院; abbr: 'SHCC') is a Catholic, all-girls' school established at Robinson and Caine Roads, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong. Founded in 1860, the school currently serves under 2,000 students ...

. She graduated from the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...

with an

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

in 1975. She obtained an

LLM A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1976.

Legal and judicial career

Yuen was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and the Hong Kong Bar in 1977. She was a

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 ...

in private practice at

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 ...

. She was Honorary Secretary of the

Hong Kong Bar Association The Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) is the professional regulatory body for barristers in Hong Kong. The Law Society of Hong Kong is the equivalent association for solicitors in Hong Kong. Victor Dawes SC is the current chairman of the Cou ...

from 1983 to 1984. In 1997, Yuen joined the bench as a Judge of 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. She was the Judge in charge of the Companies and Bankruptcy List. On 6 May 2002, Yuen was elevated to the

. On 15 November 2002, her husband (

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 ...

) was also appointed to the

. The Chief Judge of the High Court ( Arthur Leong) announced that they would not sit in the same division when hearing cases in the Court of Appeal. Subsequently, when Ma was appointed

Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal The chief justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, sometimes informally known as the chief justice of Hong Kong, is the head of the Judiciary of Hong Kong and the chief judge of the Court of Final Appeal. The chief justice is one of t ...

in 2010, it was announced that he would not hear any appeals from cases in which Yuen has sat, nor would he deal with any administrative matter involving her. In June 2021, Yuen was recommended for appointment as a permanent judge on Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal by the

Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission The Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC, ) is a statutory body in Hong Kong responsible for advising and making recommendations to the Chief Executive on judicial appointments and related matters established after the Handover in acc ...

. However the promotion was rejected by pro-Beijing legislators, in an unprecedented breach of the norms of an independent legal system. The legislators, who by protocol accept the recommendations of the Commission, claimed that she might be influenced by her husband, whose defence of Hong Kong's judicial independence they considered unpatriotic.Hong Kong pro-Beijing legislators intervene in judicial appointment,

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

, by Primrose Riordan, 23 June 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuen, Maria Living people 1953 births Alumni of the University of Hong Kong Hong Kong judges Barristers of Hong Kong