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3-parent baby case led to one of the oddest reviews in HK legal history

A boy in Hong Kong ended up with three parental figures. Top brains in the legal sector tried to unravel the legal issues this raised—but initial success was overturned by an unexpected judgment. This is the second section of a two-part report by top legal mind Henry Litton. Click this line to read part one.…

October 23, 20250Comments ByHenry Litton

Hong Kong News Opinion

This child has three parents: so who is his mother?

Advances in medical capability meant that a boy in Hong Kong ended up with three parental figures. This raised new legal issues that senior people in the legal sector tried to sort out—but initial success was overturned by an unexpected judgment. Top legal mind Henry Litton tells the story. This is the first of a…

October 16, 20250Comments ByHenry Litton

Culture Hong Kong News Opinion

Judiciary spent 2 ½ years examining which toilet a person should use

Asia has largely avoided the unhelpful “which toilet should ‘x’ use?” debate that has divided the west. But Hong Kong sometimes drifts in that direction, warns former top judge Henry Litton. THERE IS A LATIN MAXIM which says De minimis non curat lex: “The law does not concern itself with trifles”. This principle protects the…

August 12, 20250Comments ByHenry Litton

Culture Hong Kong News Opinion

Hong Kong’s balancing act on same-sex marriage

Hong Kong is performing a tricky balancing act on same-sex marriage. While some legal practitioners push towards western liberal attitudes, other community representatives feel Hong Kong, as part of Asia, will naturally be more traditionally family-focused. But there are also legal issues at stake, with the judicial and executive branches of the government each needing…

July 15, 20250Comments ByHenry Litton

Hong Kong News Opinion

Golf controversy leaves the law stranded in the bunker

A decision to use a section of Hong Kong's best-known golf course for much-needed public housing became a major controversy. The necessary environmental impact assessment was misunderstood as a referendum on the public housing project, leading to widespread confusion, reports retired judge Henry Litton. The government’s proposal to take over a portion of the Fanling…

January 16, 20250Comments ByHenry Litton

Hong Kong News Opinion

When Hong Kong’s leader was wrongfully jailed as a criminal

It was a shocking turn of affairs. A respected former leader of Hong Kong was relentlessly pursued by lawyers and eventually thrown in jail as a criminal – before further examination established that he was not guilty of anything and had been wrongly imprisoned. It was a long nightmare for Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, a popular…

January 10, 20250Comments ByHenry Litton

Hong Kong News Opinion

When lawyers decided to bring down Hong Kong’s Chief Executive

One of the signs that Hong Kong has a world-class legal system is the way judiciary and government often disagree on outcomes. That shows healthy independence. But there have been cases in which people in the city's legal sector, using taxpayer legal aid money, attack the Chief Executive to create political theatre and hurt our…

January 2, 20250Comments ByHenry Litton

Hong Kong News News Opinion

CFA’s ‘Elephant in the room’

The journey taken by the prosecution relating to a famous illegal march in August 2019 has been bizarre, reports Henry Litton. THE FINAL DETERMINATION in the Court of Final Appeal ( CFA ) of the case arising from the so-called “818 Procession” is both bizarre and disturbing. The case was founded on hard facts and clear criminality, yet…

October 2, 20240Comments ByHenry Litton

Hong Kong News Opinion

Tyranny of ideology: words are too elastic in same-sex marriage legislation

A look back at two pivotal same-sex marriage cases in Hong Kong show a lack of evidence, and a worrying elevation of imported European views over this community's own values, says senior legal mind Henry Litton. “Where Law Ends, Tyranny Begins”. This sentence (carved in stone over the entrance to the Capitol Building in Des…

April 11, 20240Comments ByHenry Litton

Hong Kong News News Opinion

Shortage of judges in Hong Kong may be self-inflicted

THERE IS AN ACUTE shortage of High Court judges in Hong Kong. The recent recruitment exercise yielded only four appointments, leaving still a number of vacancies unfilled. Can it be that the problem is largely internal? Self-afflicted? What if the culture within the judiciary were to change, and judges learn to act in a focussed…

March 14, 20240Comments ByHenry Litton