The five appointed senior counsel include Li Songran (43), who specializes in criminal trials and appeals; Tang Sipei (46), who specializes in civil law; Ma Jiajun (45), honorary secretary and treasurer of the Bar Association; Wen Diqin (45), who specializes in family law. Mairéad Mary Rattigan (56) and Victor Howard Joffe (70), QC for England and Wales, specialising in commercial and corporate litigation.
Zhang Ju-neng, Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, first congratulated the five people in his speech. He mentioned that senior counsel plays an “important role” in safeguarding the rule of law and judicial independence in Hong Kong. Joining this ranks means being in a unique position to lead and support barristers in matters related to the rule of law, judicial independence and other matters affecting Hong Kong’s legal system. Stand up to speak, but also set an example for the industry’s backward.
In her speech, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng said that the number of senior counsel appointed this year was the highest since 2015, bringing the total to 104. Zheng Ruohua recalled that she was the fifth female senior counsel to be appointed, and mentioned that there were 12 female senior counsel, accounting for regarding 11.5% of the total, and six of them were appointed in the past five years.
Zheng Ruohua continued to point out that the appointment ceremony marked the recognition of the five people by the legal profession and the judiciary, but at the same time placed high hopes on them. Cheng Ruohua said that Hong Kong’s legal and judicial system is full of misleading information locally and internationally, and I hope that senior counsel will boldly refute these false allegations and explain to the world the actual operation of the rule of law in Hong Kong.
