Robert Tang (judge)

Robert Tang Ching
鄧國楨
Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal
Assumed office
2018
Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal
In office
2012–2018
Preceded byKemal Bokhary
Succeeded byAndrew Cheung
Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal
In office
2010–2012
Vice President of the Court of Appeal
In office
2006–2010
Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal
In office
2005–2006
Judge of the Court of First Instance
In office
2004–2005
Personal details
Born(1947-01-07)7 January 1947
Shanghai, Republic of China
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Birmingham
OccupationJudge
Robert Tang Ching
Traditional Chinese鄧楨
Simplified Chinese邓桢
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDèng Zhēn
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingdang6 zing1
Robert Tang Kwok-ching
Traditional Chinese鄧國楨
Simplified Chinese邓国桢
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDèng Guózhēn
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingdang6 gwok3 zing1

Robert Tang Kwok-ching, GBM, SBS, JP (Chinese: 鄧國楨; born 7 January 1947)[1] 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 in Hong Kong.[2] Following his retirement, he was appointed a non-permanent judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.

Early life and education

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Born in Shanghai, Robert Tang received his education in England. In 1969, he graduated from the University of Birmingham.[3]

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Tang began his legal career as a barrister at Gray's Inn 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 1986. In 1992, he was admitted as a barrister in Singapore. From 1988 to 1990 he was Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association. During his time in private practice, he was eminently successful and was described by his former pupil and current Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma to have had arguably "the most successful practice” in the profession.[4]

Judicial career

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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 on 3 January 2005 and was later appointed as the Vice-President of the Court of Appeal of Hong Kong 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.[5]

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

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

Honours

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In 2004, Tang was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star and the Grand Bauhinia Medal 大紫荊勳章 for his judicial service in Hong Kong.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "非常任法官".
  2. ^ "Robert C. Tang's personal website".
  3. ^ a b "Annex Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Government of Hong Kong. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  4. ^ "'Eternal vigilance' needed to uphold Hong Kong's rule of law, judge says". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Commission members & staff". The Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong.
[edit]
Legal offices
Preceded by Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal
2012–2018
With: Patrick Chan (2012–2013)
Robert Ribeiro (2012–2018)
Joseph Fok (2013–2018)
Succeeded by
Order of precedence
Previous:
Andrew Cheung
Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal
Hong Kong order of precedence
Non-permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal
Succeeded by
Frank Stock
Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal