The Chief Justice of Hong Kong Mr Geoffrey Ma: The Rule of Law in Changing Times

Chief Justice Ma (Chinese: 馬道立) is the incumbent Chief Justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. Between 2001 and 2010, he held various positions in the High Court of Hong Kong, as a Judge of the Court of First Instance, a Justice of Appeal and the Chief Judge of the High Court. He was appointed the Chief Justice on 1 September 2010.

Chief Justice Ma graduated with an LL.B from Birmingham University in 1977. He completed his Bar Finals in 1978. He was called to the English Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1978, the Hong Kong Bar in 1980, the Bar of the State of Victoria in Australia in 1983 and the Bar of Singapore in 1990. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1993 and made an Honorary Bencher of Gray’s Inn in 2004. He was admitted to the degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by the University of Birmingham in 2011. He was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal by the Government in June 2012 and was conferred an Honorary Fellowship by Harris Manchester College of the University of Oxford in November 2012.