Among them will be Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung – who handles all legal matters for the government – and Director of Public Prosecutions Keith Yeung Kar-hung, according to the South China Morning Post. Another departure during the next chief executive’s term includes that of Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li who will reach the retirement age of 65 in 2021.Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, 58, who heads the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, and Johnny Mok Shu-luen, who represented the government in a legal bid to unseat four lawmakers, are among those being tipped for the post of Justice secretary.

No impact

However, veteran barrister Ronny Tong Ka-wah told the South China Morning Post that the changes might affect some constitutional matters being handled by the city but would not ‘turn the world upside down’. He was also reported as saying that it would be important for the next Justice Secretary not to be too closely associated with Beijing because of the political nature of the role but that he did not think the legal system would be affected much by the likely departures. The newspaper also reported that Legislative Council’s legal representative, Dennis Kwok, agreed, saying the rule of law ‘depends on our system and not individuals’.