Patrick Chan Siu-oi () is a judge in Hong Kong. He currently serves as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal having previously been a Permanent Judge of that court.

Early life, education and legal career

Born in Hong Kong, Chan attended

Wah Yan College, Hong Kong Wah Yan College, Hong Kong also referred to by its acronym WYHK is a private Catholic all-boys grant-in-aid secondary education institution run by the China Province of the Society of Jesus in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. It was founded by on 16 De ...

, a prominent Jesuit high school in Hong Kong. He received his

Bachelor of Laws 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 People's Republic of Ch ...

("LLB") degree in 1974 and a Postgraduate Certificate in Laws in 1975 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 f ...

. He served pupillage under Patrick Yu and was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1976. He was a barrister in private practice until he joined the Judiciary as a District Judge in 1987.

Judicial career

Between 1987 and 1991, Chan served as judge in District Courts, having been appointed a District Judge on 9 November 1987. In 1991, he was appointed Deputy

Registrar A registrar is an official keeper of records made in a register. The term may refer to: Education * Registrar (education), an official in an academic institution who handles student records * Registrar of the University of Oxford, one of the se ...

of the Supreme Court. In 1992, he began serving as a Judge in 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 accorda ...

of the High Court of Hong Kong. Chan was appointed the first Chief Judge of the High Court in 1997, when British colonial rule in Hong Kong ended and China resumed its sovereignty over the region. He thus became the first locally educated judge to hold that position. In 2000, he was appointed a Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong's

court of last resort A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

). He retired in 2013 and was succeeded by

Joseph Fok Joseph Paul Fok (, born 24 September 1962) is a Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. At 51 years and 28 days, he is the third youngest-ever judge to be appointed to the Court of Final Appeal, behind only Kemal Bokhary and And ...

. He continues to serve as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court. During his time on the bench, Chan contributed significantly towards the development of a bilingual legal system, and served on various judicial committees advocating the greater use of Chinese in judicial proceedings and the translation of English judgments. In February 2021, Chan claimed that there is no absolute separation of powers in Hong Kong, and that "It is more accurate to call it a division of authority."

Extra-Judicial Life

From October 2006 to September 2012, Chan was a member of the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong. Chan was appointed an Honorary Bencher of the Inner Temple (England and Wales) in 2001. He was conferred Honorary Fellowships by the University of Hong Kong (2003) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2011). He was conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the City University of Hong Kong (2008) and an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Hong Kong (2011). In 2013, Chan was awarded the

Grand Bauhinia Medal The Grand Bauhinia Medal () is the highest award under the Hong Kong honours and awards system; it is to recognise the selected person's lifelong and highly significant contribution to the well-being of Hong Kong. The awardee is entitled to the ...

, the highest honour given by the

HKSAR Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Government. Chan has been recognised for his contributions to legal education in Hong Kong. He was the Chairman of the Joint Examination Board on Postgraduate Certificate in Laws set up to ensure that a common standard would be maintained for postgraduate law students of both the University of Hong Kong and the City University entering the legal profession.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Patrick Living people Hong Kong judges 1948 births British Hong Kong judges