Robert Tang Kwok-ching, GBM, SBS, JP (; born 7 January 1947) is a retired Hong Kong judge. He previously served as a permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal, and before that, the vice-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 ...

in Hong Kong. Following his retirement, he was appointed a non-permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal.

Early life and education

Born in Shanghai, Robert Tang received his education in England. In 1969, he 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 ...

Legal career

Tang began his legal career as a barrister at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in England in 1969. He was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1970, the Bar of Victoria, Australia in 1984, and the New York Bar in 1986. Tang was appointed as

Queen's Counsel 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 o ...

in 1986. In 1992, he was admitted as a barrister in Singapore. From 1988 to 1990 he was Chairman 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 ...

. During his time in private practice, he was eminently successful and was described by his former pupil and current Chief Justice

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 ...

to have had arguably "the most successful practice” in the profession.

Judicial career

Tang served as a Deputy District Judge in 1982 and as a Deputy High Court Judge in 1986. He was appointed as a Recorder of the High Court in 1995 and appointed a judge of the High Court in April 2004. He became a Justice of Appeal 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 tw ...

on 3 January 2005 and was later appointed as the Vice-President of the

on 1 November 2006. He was appointed a non-permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal on 1 September 2010. He then became a permanent judge of the Court on 25 October 2012. From October 2012 to September 2018, Tang was a member of the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong. On 21 March 2018, the judiciary announced that Tang would be appointed as a non-permanent judge following his retirement; Andrew Cheung was named as his successor in the Court of Final Appeal.

Family

Tang is married to Cissy K. S. Lam and has two children, Hilary and Charles Tang.

Honours

In 2004, Tang was awarded the

Silver Bauhinia Star The Silver Bauhinia Star (, SBS) is the second Bauhinia Star rank in the honours system of Hong Kong, awarded to people who have taken a leading part in public affairs or voluntary work over a long period. The award was created in 1997 to repla ...

for his judicial service in Hong Kong.

References

External links

Robert C. Tang's personal website
Hong Kong judges Living people 1947 births Alumni of the University of Birmingham British Hong Kong judges {{HongKong-law-bio-stub