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The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
It is with much sadness that the Judiciary announces the death of Sir Thomas Gault, Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, in Auckland, New Zealand, last week.
Sir Thomas was appointed a Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal in 2006 and made important contributions to our case law as a member of our Court. Each of the members in the Court of Final Appeal, past and present, fondly remembers him as a convivial colleague and holds him in the highest regard as a jurist.
He began a distinguished career as Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand in 1962, specialising in commercial and intellectual property law. He was made Queen's Counsel in 1984 and was appointed a Judge of the High Court of New Zealand in 1987. Sir Thomas was elevated to the Court of Appeal of New Zealand in 1991, becoming President of that Court in 2002. He became a Member of the Privy Council in 1992 and an Honorary Bencher of the Inner Temple in 2003.
Sir Thomas then served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand from 2004 to 2006, and also as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Fiji from 2002 to 2005. He was created a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002, and was redesignated a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2009.
Sir Thomas was a keen golfer and attained the distinction of being made Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in 2005.
The Judiciary extends its deepest sympathies to his wife Barbara and the other members of his family.
Ends/Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:02
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