Judge Neuberger leaves advisory board of NGO for media freedom after Lai verdict

A British judge who served on a panel that on Monday rejected the appeal of media mogul Jimmy Lai and six other democrats in connection with a 2019 protest rally has resigned from his post on the advisory board of an international press freedom NGO.

David Neuberger – a non-permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal abroad – was chair of the High-Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom at the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI). The panel advises the Media Freedom Coalition, which, according to its website, aims to “promote media freedom through advocacy, diplomatic intervention, legal reform, events and funding”.

In a statement released by IBAHRI on Thursday, Neuberger thanked the panel and announced that a successor would be announced in due course: “A few months ago, I raised the possibility of resigning from my position as Chair of the High-Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom, not least because I would have shortly completed five years in office, but also because concerns had been raised about my position as a non-permanent judge in Hong Kong.”

“I have now come to the conclusion that I should leave now because it is undesirable that concentrating on my position as a non-permanent judge in Hong Kong should distract or detract from the important and effective work of the High Level Panel,” he wrote.

See also: Government condemns ‘defamation’ by former Hong Kong governor who called on British judge on Jimmy Lai’s appeal panel to resign

HKFP said on Wednesday that the British judge had informed the coalition that he was reconsidering his position. He did not respond to HKFP's requests for comment.

Jimmy Lai and the Democrats’ Appeal

On Monday, Democratic figures Martin Lee, Margaret Ng, Jimmy Lai, Albert Ho, Lee Cheuk-yan, “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung and Cyd Ho lost an appeal against their convictions for knowingly participating in an unauthorized assembly on August 18, 2019. Neuberger was part of the panel of judges that unanimously rejected the Democrats' argument that their conviction was disproportionate to the protection of their basic human rights.

On Tuesday, the Hong Kong government expressed its support for the Supreme Court's decision. Hong Kong citizens have the right to “peaceful assembly and procession in accordance with the law,” it said in a statement. “However, these rights must be exercised in accordance with relevant laws to ensure the preservation of national security, public order, public safety and the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.”

Aside from the protest case, Jimmy Lai, founder of Hong Kong's defunct Apple Daily newspaper and a prominent supporter of the city's democracy movement, has been accused of violating the national security law enacted by Beijing. If convicted, he faces life in prison. The 76-year-old is on trial for two counts of involvement in a “conspiracy to collaborate with foreign forces” under the security law, as well as conspiracy to publish “seditious” materials.

In June, Neuberger told Reuters he would stay on as a Supreme Court judge “to support the rule of law in Hong Kong as best I can.” In the same month, British judges Jonathan Sumption and Lawrence Collins resigned from their Supreme Court posts. The latter cited the “political situation” as the reason, and Sumption sharply criticized Hong Kong's judicial system in a newspaper article. Judges Robert Reed and Patrick Hodge resigned in March 2022.

The British daily newspaper Independent launched a campaign on its front page on Wednesday calling for the judge to withdraw from his mandate at the Court of Final Appeal.

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