Anthony Mason, who helped put top Hong Kong court on the map, dies at age 100

2026.03.18 07:20 Tributes from current and former city officials poured in for the late jurist on Wednesday, just a day after he died. Photo: Handout Former Australian chief justice Anthony Mason, who was one of the first non-permanent judges to join the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and oversaw many of its early key constitutional cases, has died at the age of 100. Tributes from current and former city officials poured in for the late jurist on Wednesday, just a day after he died. Mason is widely considered to have been pivotal in establishing the court’s role under Hong Kong’s new constitutional order following the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, in addition to building the court’s reputation in the common law world. Born in Australia in 1925, Mason served his country as part of its air force during World War II. He would later graduate with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sydney before being admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1951. Following a period of service on the Supreme Court of New South Wales, he was appointed to the bench of Australia’s High Court in 1972. He would go on to serve as its chief justice from 1987 to 1995, where he attained a reputation as one of the country’s greatest holders of the office. Two years after he retired from Australia’s High Court, Mason was appointed as one of the earliest Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal non-permanent judges to be recruited from another country. He served in the position until 2015. Mason has been praised for his contributions to the Court of Final Appeal. Photo: Jelly Tse During his tenure on Hong Kong’s court, Mason sat on many of its most important constitutional cases, particularly those related to interpretations of the Basic Law – the city’s mini-constitution – and the application of the city’s “one country, two systems” governing principle. Among the landmark cases he presided over was the “Director of Immigration versus Chong Fung Yuen” in 2001, in wh

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