Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong
The Supreme Court of Hong Kong existed from 1844 (before the establishment of the court (1841-1844), legal proceedings would likely have been undertaken by the British military courts and commanding officers) when British civilian control of Hong Kong commenced until 1997 when Hong Kong was returned to China.Only the last chief justice, Sir Ti-liang Yang, was Chinese by ethnicity (British subject, later a British Dependent Territory citizen); the remainder were all British or Irish, two of whom, Sir James Russell and Sir Joseph H. Kemp, both Irishmen, spoke Chinese.The position was accordingly changed to Chief Judge of the High Court, while the role of head of the Hong Kong Judiciary was assumed by the chief justice of the Court of Final Appeal.The Court of Final Appeal was established to replace the role of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as Hong Kong's final appellate court.The following table lists former chief justices of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong prior to 1997.
Hong KongChineseSupreme Court of Hong KongSir Ti-liang YangBritish Dependent TerritoryBritishSir James RussellSir Joseph H. KempHigh Court of Hong Kongchief justice of the Court of Final AppealJudicial Committee of the Privy CouncilJohn Walter HulmeSir John Francis DavisWilliam Henry AdamsSir Hercules RobinsonAttorney General of Hong KongSir John Jackson SmaleSir Richard Graves MacDonnellSir George PhillippoMalcolm Struan TonnochyGibraltarSir William Des VoeuxPuisne JudgeSir Fielding ClarkeSir William RobinsonChief Justice of FijiChief Justice of JamaicaSir John Worrell CarringtonSir William Meigh GoodmanSir Henry Arthur BlakeSir Francis PiggottSir Matthew NathanMauritiusSir William Rees-DaviesClaud SevernSir Henry GollanSir Reginald Edward StubbsAttorney General of CeylonThomas SouthornSir Atholl MacGregorSir William PeelStanley Internment CampSir Henry BlackallSir Mark YoungSir Leslie GibsonSir Alexander GranthamPalestineForeign OfficeSir Gerard HoweNigeriaSir Michael HoganSir Ivo RigbySir David C.C. TrenchSir Geoffrey BriggsSir Murray MacLehoseSir Denys RobertsColonial/Chief SecretarySir David WilsonChief Executive of Hong KongSir Noel PowerChris PattenhandoverOverseas territoriesAnguillaBermudaBritish Antarctic TerritoryBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryVirgin IslandsCayman IslandsFalkland IslandsMontserratPitcairnSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSaint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da CunhaCrown DependenciesGuernseyIsle of ManJerseyBritish Cameroons Cape ColonyGambiaGold CoastGriqualand WestLagos ColonyFederation of Rhodesia and NyasalandNorthern RhodesiaNyasalandSouthern RhodesiaSenegalSeychellesSierra LeoneSouth AfricaSouthern AfricaBritish SomalilandTanganyikaUgandaZanzibarBahamasBarbadosBerbiceBritish GuianaBritish HondurasDominicaDemerara-EssequiboGrenadaJamaicaLeeward IslandsSt LuciaSt. VincentTrinidad and TobagoTobagoTrinidadNewfoundlandCanada British ColumbiaNew BrunswickNova-ScotiaOntarioPrince Edward IslandQuebecSaint Kitts, Nevis and AnguillaWindward IslandsWest Indies FederationConnecticutDelawareFlorida