Jeremy Poon

Poon was born in Hong Kong in 1962.

Poon received a Bachelor of Laws in 1985 and a Postgraduate Certificate in Laws in 1986, both from the University of Hong Kong. He received a Master of Laws from University College London in the United Kingdom in 1987.{{cite web |title=Judicial appointments |url=https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200611/24/P200611240201.htm |date=24 November 2006 |website=www.info.gov.hk |publisher=Government of Hong Kong}}

Poon was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1986 and was a barrister in private practice between 1988 and 1993.

In 1993, Poon joined the bench as a Permanent Magistrate. He sat as a Presiding Officer in the Labour Tribunal.{{Cite Hong Kong case|litigants=Anant Ram Devgun v Arjan Wadhmal Nandwani|list=HCSA|number=20|year=2006|id=55495}}, at para. 17 Poon was appointed as Deputy Registrar of the High Court in 1999 and as Judge of Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2006.[https://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20061048/egn200610487536.pdf "G.N. 7536"], Hong Kong Government Gazette (No. 48, Vol. 10, 1 December 2006) From 2011 to 2015, he was the Civil Listing Judge and the Judge in charge of the Probate List, the Family Law List and the Mental Health List.

In 2012, Poon acted as Returning Officer for the 2012 Hong Kong Chief Executive election.[https://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20111551/egn201115518301.pdf "G.N. 8301"], Hong Kong Government Gazette (No. 51, Vol. 15, 23 December 2011)

In 2015, Poon was elevated to the Court of Appeal.{{cite web |title=Judicial appointments |url=https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201509/16/P201509160349.htm |website=www.info.gov.hk |date=16 September 2015 |publisher=Government of Hong Kong}}[https://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20151939/egn201519397242.pdf "G.N. 7242"], Hong Kong Government Gazette (No. 39, Vol. 19, 25 September 2015)

On 22 May 2019, acting on the recommendation of the independent Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, the Chief Executive announced Poon's appointment as Chief Judge of the High Court (a post which had become vacant upon the appointment of Andrew Cheung as a Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal in October 2018), subject to the endorsement of the Legislative Council in accordance with Article 90 of the Basic Law.{{cite web |title=Senior judicial appointment: Chief Judge of the High Court |url=https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201905/22/P2019052200278.htm |website=www.info.gov.hk |date=22 May 2019 |publisher=Government of Hong Kong}} Pending the Legislative Council's endorsement, Poon was appointed as Acting Chief Judge of the High Court on 1 August 2019.[https://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20192331/egn201923314834.pdf "G.N. 4834"], Hong Kong Government Gazette (No. 31, Vol. 23, 2 August 2019) After the Legislative Council endorsed Poon's appointment, Poon became Chief Judge of the High Court with effect from 18 December 2019.

In January 2021, Poon was appointed as a member of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission.[https://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20212501/egn2021250126.pdf "G.N. 26"], Hong Kong Government Gazette (No. 1, Vol. 25, 8 January 2021)

{{Main|Small House Policy}}

In January 2021, Poon ruled that all three methods of building land under the Small House Policy were completely legal, overturning an earlier decision in 2019.{{Cite web|date=2021-01-13|title=Hong Kong male villagers' small-house rights fully restored after ruling reversal|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3117547/hong-kongs-court-appeal-reverses-ruling-fully-restore-male|access-date=2021-02-14|website=South China Morning Post|language=en}} Poon told the plaintiffs, Hendrick Lui Chi-hang and Kwok Cheuk-kin, that they did not have sufficient standing to bring up the case because they do not own land rights in the New Territories. In response, a member of the Liber Research Community said that "The ding right affects every Hong Kong citizen as it competes with other land uses for land resources. The government has had to reserve lots of space in new towns for villagers to build their homes, while the land could have been better used for higher-density developments. How can the court say we have no stake in the issue?"

In October 2022, Poon said that if there are any contradictions between the Basic Law and Hong Kong national security law, the national security law should take priority.{{Cite web |last=Standard |first=The |title=Student appeals five-year jail term over inciting secession conviction |url=https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/195847/Student-appeals-five-year-jail-term-over-inciting-secession-conviction |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=The Standard |language=en}}

In October 2022, Poon was part of a team of 3 judges who ruled against Jimmy Lai and said that "despite its importance to the freedom of the press, the protection afforded to journalistic material is not absolute."{{Cite web |last=Chau |first=Candice |date=2022-10-19 |title=National security: Hong Kong court allows police to search journalistic materials stored on Jimmy Lai's phones |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2022/10/19/national-security-hong-kong-court-allows-police-to-search-journalistic-materials-stored-on-jimmy-lais-phones/ |access-date=2022-10-19 |website=Hong Kong Free Press HKFP |language=en-GB}}

In May 2023, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) of the United States Congress suggested the United States government imposing sanctions on Poon to counter the erosion of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong over his handling of Jimmy Lai's case.{{cite news|title=One City, Two Legal Systems: Hong Kong Judges’ Role in Rights Violations under the National Security Law|url=https://www.cecc.gov/publications/commission-analysis/one-city-two-legal-systems-hong-kong-judges%E2%80%99-role-in-rights|work=Congressional-Executive Commission on China|date=10 May 2023 }}{{cite news|title=Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai appeals against failed bid to block police from searching his phones|url=https://hongkongfp.com/2022/09/28/hong-kong-media-tycoon-jimmy-lai-appeal-against-failed-bid-to-block-police-from-searching-his-phones/|date=28 September 2022|work=Hong Kong Free Press}} The same month, Poon rejected attempts by Lai to challenge the national security committee's decision to ban Lai from hiring Tim Owen.{{Cite web |last=Chau |first=Candice |date=2023-05-19 |title=Hong Kong court rejects media tycoon Jimmy Lai's bid to challenge nat. security committee decision |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2023/05/19/breaking-hong-kong-court-rejects-media-tycoon-jimmy-lais-bid-to-challenge-nat-security-committee-decision/ |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=Hong Kong Free Press HKFP |language=en-GB}}

In August 2023, Poon ruled that Lai's two judicial challenges were "unreasonable" and ordered Lai to pay the costs of the challenges.{{Cite web |last=Ho |first=Kelly |date=2023-08-04 |title=Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai ordered to pay costs of 'unreasonable' challenges in national security case |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2023/08/04/hong-kong-media-tycoon-jimmy-lai-ordered-to-pay-costs-of-unreasonable-challenges-in-national-security-case/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=Hong Kong Free Press HKFP |language=en-GB}}

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{{s-ttl|title = Designated National Security Law Judge|years=2021–Present}}

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Category:Living people

Category:Barristers of Hong Kong

Category:Hong Kong judges

Category:Alumni of the University of Hong Kong

Category:Alumni of University College London

Category:1962 births

zh:潘兆初

Category:Alumni of the UCL Faculty of Laws