High Court ex-senior vice president slams Lord Sumption's op-ed piece as 'self-contradiction'

The former Senior Vice Pres­id­ent of the Court of Appeal Anthony Rogers expressed his regret over an opinion piece written by Lord Jonathan Sumption - a British judge who recently resigned from the city's top court – saying the rule of law in Hong Kong is in grave danger.

In a letter published in the Financial Times on Tuesday (Jun 18), titled "'Regrettable transgression' in judge's Hong Kong exit", Rogers said it is regrettable "a former member of the highest courts in England and Wales, and Hong Kong, should transgress the principle that comments should not be made about legal proceedings while they are still active."

He noted that the op-ed of Lord Sumption is "vulnerable to further criticism in confusing the correctness of the decision with his personal dislike of the relevant legislation."

Rogers continued slamming Sumption's article, saying that "the logic behind the opinion breaks down on analysis into self-contradiction." 

He stated that a judge resigning rather than administering a law that is considered unjust "is right and proper", but those who administer that law "do not commit a breach of the rule of law."

Rogers was called to the English Bar in 1969 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1984. He had been in private practice in Hong Kong from 1976 until 1993. 

Rogers joined the Hong Kong Judiciary as Judge of the High Court in 1993, and was appointed Justice of Appeal in 1997. He was appointed as Vice-President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court in 2000 and retired after serving the post for 11 years.