JD Journal

If you or your firm do business in Hong Kong, you’ll want to keep a close eye on this story.

Andrew Li, the Chief Justice of Hong Kong has announced he is retiring early. Li has been Chief Justice since the handover of the former British colony to China in 1997. It’s too soon to say what the implications for Hong Kong might be yet, but Li insists that politics have nothing do to with his retirement.

Under Hong Kong’s Basic Law, Hong Kong is permitted to continue as a capitalist society for 50 years following the handover and certain freedoms are guaranteed to the people of Hong Kong. However, the legislature of China has on three occasions overturned the Hong Kong judiciary based on its interpretation of the Basic Law. Whether a new Chief Justice will be more inclined to follow Beijing’s desires for Hong Kong or not is an important question for anyone doing business in Hong Kong.

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