Australian and Canadian judges confirmed Thursday they will stay on Hong Kong's top court after two senior British judges resigned to avoid endorsing China's crackdown on political freedoms in the financial hub.

Judges from common law jurisdictions are invited to sit as non-permanent members at Hong Kong's top court, which is separate from mainland China's opaque, party-controlled legal system.

UK Supreme Court President Robert Reed and fellow judge Patrick Hodge resigned from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal on Wednesday, saying the government had "departed from values of political freedom and freedom of expression".

Four of the ten remaining overseas judges -- who unlike Reed and Hodge are retired -- have said they will remain, including Australian judges William Gummow, Anthony Murray Gleeson and Robert French.

"We do not intend to resign and we support the judges of the Court of Final Appeal in their commitment to judicial independence," Gummow, Gleeson and French told AFP in a joint statement.

Former Canadian chief justice Beverley McLachlin also said she would remain.

"The court is operating as an independent, judicial branch of government -- perhaps the last surviving strong institution of democracy," McLachlin told The Globe and Mail.

The six remaining members, who are retired British judges, have not made clear if they will stay or resign.

Legal analysts say they could come under pressure to follow Reed and Hodge in stepping down.

"I would be surprised if this very significant step... did not give the others very serious pause for thought," British lawyer Schona Jolly wrote on Twitter.

They include David Neuberger, a former head of Britain's Supreme Court, and Jonathan Sumption, who also used to sit on the UK's top court.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Wednesday that Hong Kong's national security law -- imposed by China in 2020 after months of democracy protests in the city -- had led to a "systematic erosion of liberty and democracy".

Truss added it was "no longer tenable" for serving British judges to sit on Hong Kong's top court, as it would risk "legitimising oppression".

China said it "strongly deplored" the move, which was also criticised by Hong Kong's two professional legal bodies, the Law Society and the Bar Association.

"We have made representations to the UK government to express our position and to urge them not to interfere," Bar Association chair Victor Dawes told reporters Thursday.

He also argued it was too early to tell if the security law had negatively impacted Hong Kong.

But local lawyer and former student leader Kenneth Lam said Hong Kong had become a place where "speech can be criminalised, critics of the regime can be jailed, and those awaiting trial can be kept behind bars for years."

"How much of a price must we pay before we are willing to face the fact that Hong Kong, once an international city that respects free speech and personal freedom, has become unrecognisable," he wrote on Facebook.

Two UK judges resign from Hong Kong's top court
London (AFP) March 30, 2022 - Two UK Supreme Court judges resigned from Hong Kong's top court on Wednesday, as the government in London said it was "impossible" for them to keep serving in the former colony famed for its hybrid legal system.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that senior UK judges continuing to occupy roles there risked "legitimising oppression", following the imposition of China's controversial national security law in 2020.

The stance taken by Britain -- which handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997 -- could pressure Australia and Canada, which also have judges on Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal, to follow suit.

"The situation has reached a tipping point where it is no longer tenable for British judges to sit on Hong Kong's leading court, and would risk legitimising oppression," Truss said.

"We have seen a systematic erosion of liberty and democracy in Hong Kong," she said, noting the authorities there had "cracked down on free speech, the free press and free association".

Taking questions in parliament, Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted the "constraints" of the 2020 legislation now made it "impossible for them to continue to serve".

Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam said she had "no choice" but to agree to the two resignations.

"We must vehemently refute any unfounded allegations that the judges' resignations have anything to do with the introduction of the Hong Kong national security law or the exercise of freedom of speech and political freedom," she added.

Hong Kong's Chief Justice Andrew Cheung expressed regret over the withdrawals, but insisted they would not impact the functioning of its top court.

- 'Deteriorating' -

Unlike the opaque, party-controlled legal system on China's mainland, Hong Kong has largely maintained the independent common law system that has formed the bedrock of the city's economic success.

Under its mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, senior judges from common law jurisdictions are invited by the territory to sit as non-permanent members on the court.

Eight of the current 12 are British, with two of them also serving members of the UK Supreme Court.

"Established rights and freedoms are now sadly deteriorating, meaning Her Majesty's government can no longer endorse serving judges on the court of final appeal here," UK Consul General to Hong Kong Brian Davidson tweeted.

The Supreme Court pair -- its president Robert Reed, and fellow judge Patrick Hodge -- resigned from the Hong Kong court with immediate effect.

"The judges of the Supreme Court cannot continue to sit in Hong Kong without appearing to endorse an administration which has departed from values of political freedom, and freedom of expression," Reed said.

However, it was unclear when, or even if, the remaining six British judges would also resign.

A spokesman for Lennie Hoffmann, a UK peer first appointed to the Hong Kong court in 1998, said he had "taken note" of his two colleagues' resignations.

"(He) will take it into account in deciding what to do," the spokesman told AFP.

The other judges did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a March 2021 newspaper article, Jonathan Sumption -- whose term on the court ends the soonest, at the end of this year -- argued against stepping down.

"It is not a proper function of judges to participate in political boycotts. They will serve the cause of justice better by participating in the work of Hong Kong's courts," he wrote.

- 'Veneer of legitimacy' -

But Nathan Law, a prominent former student protest leader and Hong Kong lawmaker who has fled to Britain, urged the remaining judges to resign "as soon as possible".

Hong Kong's Law Society, whose leadership is largely pro-government, described the two resignations as "a matter of deep regret" while cautioning against "unfair and unfounded accusations".

However, hawkish British lawmaker Tom Tugendhat said security law cases were "too often incompatible with the defence of rights that our judges were invited to uphold".

"British judges should not provide a veneer of legitimacy to a legal system that is now being used to lock up Hongkongers without due process," he added.

Johnny Patterson, policy director of the UK-based rights group Hong Kong Watch, said the latest developments undoubtedly damaged its status as an international city.

"It's a sign that you can't have your cake and eat it when it comes to the national security law," he told AFP.

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