Litton appointed Honorary Bencher of Gray's Inn

***********************************************

The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:

The Hon Mr. Justice Henry Litton, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, has been appointed an Honorary Bencher of the Gray's Inn in London recently.

The Gray's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London and its Honorary Benchers are strictly limited. Among them are distinguished judges, practitioners and academics.

The Hon Mr. Justice Litton said that he was greatly honoured to be elected and hoped that he would be able to strengthen the links between the Inn and members of the Hong Kong Judiciary.

The Hon Chief Justice Andrew Li, was pleased to learn about the election. "Apart from being a personal honour for Mr. Justice Litton, the appointment is a recognition of the status of the Court of Final Appeal and its judges," he said.

Mr. Justice Litton practised at the Hong Kong Bar from 1960 and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1970. He was appointed directly to the Court of Appeal in 1992 and became Vice-President of the Court of Appeal in 1994. He was appointed Permanent Judge of the Court of the Final Appeal in 1997.

He was the Legal Adviser to the Basic Law Consultative Committee between 1987 and 1990, and was the Adviser to the Hong Kong & Macau Office on Hong Kong affairs in 1992.

Mr. Justice Litton has written and published extensively on legal subjects. He was the Founder and Editor-in-chief of the Hong Kong Law Journal from 1971 to 1992. He is currently the chairman of the Advisory Committee on Legal Education and chairman of the editorial advisory committee for Halsbury's Laws of Hong Kong.

End/Thursday, January 28, 1999

NNNN