STL Students Explore Hong Kong Legal System Through Court Visit

On June 20, Susan Finder, Distinguished Scholar in Residence of STL, led students of her "Comparative Courts" course to visit the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong), where they had a wide-ranging and lively discussion with Justice Jonathan Harris, Judge of the High Court and President of the Hong Kong Competition Tribunal. The discussion took place in Justice Harris' courtroom, providing students with the opportunity to observe the differences between courtrooms in the Chinese mainland and in the Hong Kong SAR.. Justice Harris gave students a detailed introduction to the Hong Kong SAR’s court system.  He discussed some of the similarities and differences between specific aspects of the two court systems, including the slower digitalization of the court system, when compared to Shenzhen.  Justice Harris drew on his 40 plus years as a legal professional in Hong Kong to provide historical reasons for the differences. Students also asked about the practicalities of the operation of Hong Kong’s bilingual legal system. Justice Harris also discussed unique aspects of the Hong Kong Competition Tribunal.

This visit provided all participants valuable insights into how common law judges think and consider cases, as well as the operation of Hong Kong’s court system. In closing, the students and Professor Susan Finder expressed their appreciation to Justice Harris and his clerk, Violet Lau Yin Yim.