Andrew Cheung Kui-nung (; born 24 September 1961) is a Hong Kong judge who serves as the 3rd

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 ...

. He previously served as a

Permanent Judge Permanent may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Permanent'' (film), a 2017 American film * ''Permanent'' (Joy Division album) * "Permanent" (song), by David Cook Other uses *Permanent (mathematics), a concept in linear algebra *Permanent (cycl ...

of the same court. He was the 4th and longest-serving Chief Judge of the High Court.

Early life

Born in Hong Kong on 24 September 1961, Cheung attended Ying Wa College, before reading law at the University of Hong Kong and taking a Master of Laws degree at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in the United States. Cheung served briefly as a Lecturer and Demonstrator of the

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

of the University of Hong Kong on a part-time basis after graduation.

Legal career

The Bar: 1985–2001

Cheung was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1985 as a pupil of Audrey Eu and began private practice the following year in the chambers of Henry Litton. His practice mainly involved civil and commercial cases. In 1995, he was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore.

The bench: 2001–

Cheung was appointed to the bench in 2001 as a judge of the

District Court of Hong Kong The District Court is the intermediate court system in Hong Kong, having limited criminal and civil jurisdictions. The District Court was established in 1953 with the enactment of the District Court Ordinance. It is located in the Wanchai Law ...

. Sitting first as a

Deputy High Court Judge The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...

in December 2001, he was soon elevated to the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2003. He was then appointed as the

Probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

Judge in 2004, before becoming the Judge in charge of the Constitutional and Administrative Law List of the High Court in 2008. His tenure was marked by a number of high-profile rulings relating to constitutional and human rights matters. In June 2011, Cheung succeeded Geoffrey Ma as the Chief Judge of the High Court and President 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 ...

, making him the fourth local judge to hold this position. In his speech to the Legislative Council moving the resolution to endorse Cheung's appointment, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr. Henry Tang, described Cheung as an outstanding lawyer with the ability to handle difficult and complex cases and the potential of being a good administrator of the High Court. He was elected an Honorary Bencher of

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in 2017. On 21 March 2018, the Judiciary announced his appointment as a Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal with effect from 25 October 2018, succeeding Robert Tang. Cheung's appointment was accompanied by the appointments of

Baroness Hale Brenda Marjorie Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, (born 31 January 1945) is a British judge who served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2017 until her retirement in 2020, and serves as a member of the House of Lords ...

and Beverley McLachlin as Non-Permanent Judges of the city's top court. He held the office of Chief Judge of the High Court for 7 years, 127 days – the longest serving of the four judges who had served in the role. Cheung is a member of 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 ...

, which makes recommendations to the Chief Executive on judicial appointments. He is a member of the Law Reform Commission and also chairs or is a member of various committees and working parties within the Judiciary. Cheung was announced as the 3rd

on 24 March 2020, succeeding Geoffrey Ma. His appointment took effect on 11 January 2021. He is the first local law graduate to be appointed Hong Kong's Chief Justice. In May 2023, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) of the United States Congress suggested the United States government imposing sanctions on Cheung to counter the erosion of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong over his handling of Jimmy Lai's national security law case.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheung, Andrew Hong Kong judges Living people 1961 births Alumni of the University of Hong Kong Harvard Law School alumni Chief justices of the Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)