A respect for rights and a respect for the rights of others = 尊重權利與尊重他人的權利

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Organizer

Lingnan University

Document Type

University Assembly

Date

3-17-2014

Time

5:00 p.m. -- 6:30 p.m.

Venue

Lee Ying Lam Lecture Theatre (MBG07), Patrick Lee Wan Keung Academic Building, Lingnan University

Description

On 17 March, the Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma cited several case samples to discuss conflicting rights and interests in Hong Kong and how the courts make their decisions on such conflicts in his lecture “A Respect for Rights and a Respect for the Rights of Others”.

He pointed out that Hong Kong is a complex city where conflicts of interest are common and even inevitable. While the court decisions are made to protect public interest, Justice Ma cautioned that the courts define “public interest” in a different way from the public. “When courts and judges talk about the public interest, they do not mean what the majority or a section of the public may want as the result in any case. What is meant by the public interest in this context is the adherence to the law and to principle,” he said. “The particular outcomes may not be to people’s liking, but what really matters is their confidence in the system of law and in the belief that the courts are independent.”

Graduated with an LLB from Birmingham University in 1977 and completed his Bars Finals in 1978, Mr Justice Ma joined the Hong Kong Judiciary as Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2001. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong on 1 September 2010. He was conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa by the University of Birmingham in 2011, awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2012 and granted an honorary fellowship by Harris Manchester College of the University of Oxford in the same year.

3月17日，香港終審法院首席法官馬道立大紫荊勛賢以「尊重權利與尊重他人的權利」為題發表演說，引用多宗案例，說明香港各種權利與利益的衝突，並解釋法庭如何就這些衝突作出裁決。

馬法官指出，香港是一個多元社會，出現各種利益衝突是十分普遍，甚至無可避免的。儘管法院裁決時以保障公眾利益為原則，它對「公眾利益」的定義卻未必與公眾人士的想法一致：「法院和法官談及公眾利益時，不是指社會大多數或某部分人士就某宗案件所樂於見到的結果。在這個情況下所謂的公眾利益，是指堅守法律及原則。某宗案件的判決結果，未必得到市民認同，但真正重要的是維持他們對法律制度及法院獨立的信心。」

馬法官於1977年在英國伯明翰大學取 得法學學士學位，1978年完成大律師資格考試課程；2001年加入香港司法機構，出任原訟法庭法官， 2010年9月1日獲委任為香港終審法院首席法官。馬法官於2011年獲英國伯明翰大學頒授法學博士（榮譽）學位，於2012年先獲香港特別行政區政府頒 授大紫荊勳章，再獲牛津大學哈里斯曼徹斯特學院頒授榮譽院士銜。

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Ma, G. (2014, March 17). A respect for rights and a respect for the rights of others [Video podcast]. Retrieved from http://commons.ln.edu.hk/videos/90

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