John Barry Mortimer, GBS, SPMB, OBE, QC (; born 1931) is a British barrister who has held senior judicial appointments in Hong Kong and Brunei Darussalam.

Early life and education

Mortimer was born in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 1931. He was educated at

St Peter's School, York St Peter's School is a co-educational independent boarding and day school (also referred to as a public school), in the English City of York, with extensive grounds on the banks of the River Ouse. Founded by St Paulinus of York in AD 627, ...

. He graduated from

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

with a BA in 1955.

Legal career

Mortimer 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 ...

at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

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 ...

in 1956. He

took silk In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1971. He was elected a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

of the

in 1981.

Judicial career

In 1985, Mortimer was appointed a Judge 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 ...

. From 1989 to 1995, Mortimer was a member of the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong. In 1993, Mortimer was appointed a Justice of Appeal, and in 1997 became Vice President of the

Court of Appeal of Hong Kong The Court of Appeal of the High Court of Hong Kong is the second most senior court in the Hong Kong legal system. It deals with appeals on all civil and criminal cases from the Court of First Instance and the District Court. It is one of t ...

(a position in which he served until his retirement from the Court of Appeal in 1999). Between 1997 and 2015, he was a Non-Permanent Judge of the

Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal 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 2002, Mortimer was elected as a Senior

of the

. In 2005, Mortimer was appointed as a Judicial Commissioner of the

Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam The Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam is the highest court of Brunei Darussalam, though its decisions are subject to appeal in civil cases to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Chief Justice and other Judges of the Supreme Court ar ...

. Between 2010 and 2018, Mortimer served as President of the Court of Appeal of Brunei Darussalam.

Honours

In 1999, Mortimer was awarded the

Golden Bauhinia Star The Gold Bauhinia Star (, GBS) is the highest Bauhinia Star rank in the honours system of Hong Kong, created in 1997 to replace the British honours system of the Order of the British Empire after the transfer of sovereignty to People's Republic of ...

by the

Chief Executive of Hong Kong The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of ...

. On retirement from the bench in 2018, Mortimer was awarded the

Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei The Most Honourable Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei ( ms, Darjah Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei Yang Amat Mulia), also translated as The Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Brunei, is an order of Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei D ...

(First Class) by the

Sultan of Brunei The sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates bac ...

. In the

2019 New Year Honours The 2019 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

, Mortimer was appointed OBE for services to law by

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during h ...

.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/767769/DSO_NY19_CH___BE_HMTQ.pdf

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortimer, John B. People educated at St Peter's School, York Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Hong Kong judges British Hong Kong judges Living people Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star Officers of the Order of the British Empire English barristers 1931 births English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel 21st-century King's Counsel Members of the Middle Temple