Joseph Fok

The Honourable Mr Justice Joseph Paul Fok PJ
霍兆剛
Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 October 2013
Designated National Security Law Judge
Incumbent
Assumed office 2021
Appointed by	Carrie Lam
Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court
In office 2011–2013
Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
In office 2010–2011
Recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
In office 2003–2009
Personal details
Born	24 September 1962 Hong Kong
Parent(s)	Dr Alison Bell Fok and Dr Peter Hin-tak Fok
Alma mater	University College London

Joseph Paul Fok
Traditional Chinese	霍兆剛
Simplified Chinese	霍兆刚
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Huò Zhàogāng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping fok3 siu6 gong1

Joseph Paul Fok (Chinese: 霍兆剛, born 24 September 1962) is a Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.

Early life

Fok is one of five children of Dr Alison Bell and Dr Peter Fok Hin-tak.

Fok obtained a Bachelor of Laws with honours from University College London in the United Kingdom in 1984. He attended the Inns of Court School of Law and passed the Bar Examination in 1985. He was called to the English Bar in 1985 and to the Hong Kong Bar in 1986.[1]

Legal career

Fok was in private practice in Hong Kong from January 1987, and on a part-time ad hoc basis in Singapore between March 2002 and March 2006. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 1999. He was a member of Temple Chambers.[2]

Judicial career

Fok was appointed a Recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court from 2003 to 2009.

On 1 July 2006, Fok was appointed a justice of the peace.[3][4]

He joined the Judiciary as a Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court on 1 February 2010. Fok was appointed a Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court on 1 February 2011.

He was appointed a Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal in 2013, replacing Mr Justice Patrick Chan.[5] At 51 years and 28 days, he was the third youngest-ever judge to be appointed to the Court of Final Appeal, behind Kemal Bokhary and Andrew Li.

On 25 September 2015, Fok was elected a Bencher of the Middle Temple.[6]

In May 2023, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) of the United States Congress suggested the United States government imposing sanctions on Fok to counter the erosion of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong over his handling of Jimmy Lai's national security law case.[7][8]

References

1. "Curriculum Vitae of The Honourable Mr. Justice Joseph Paul Fok" (PDF). Hong Kong Government Information Department. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
2. "History | Temple Chambers". Temple Chambers. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020.
3. "G.N.(E.) 18" Hong Kong Government Gazette (No. 15, Vol. 10 (Extraordinary), 1 July 2006)
4. "Justices of the Peace Appointments". Info.gov.hk. Government of Hong Kong. 1 July 2006.
5. Top Court Gets New Permanent Judge, South China Morning Post, 9 April 2013.
6. "Masters of the Bench: The Hon Mr Justice Joseph Fok". Middle Temple. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
7. "ONE CITY, TWO LEGAL SYSTEMS: HONG KONG JUDGES' ROLE IN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS UNDER THE NATIONAL SECURITY LAW". Congressional-Executive Commission on China. 10 May 2023.
8. "No bail should be granted to defendants charged under national security law, says prosecutor". The Standard. 1 February 2021.

Legal offices
Preceded by Patrick Chan	Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal 2013–present Served alongside: Robert Ribeiro, Robert Tang, Andrew Cheung	Incumbent
New creation	Designated National Security Law Judge 2021–Present	Incumbent
Order of precedence
Previous: Robert Ribeiro Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal	Hong Kong order of precedence Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal	Succeeded by Position currently vacant Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal