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The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:

The Judiciary today (November 14) announced the appointment of the Hon. Mr Justice Geoffrey MA Tao-li as Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court. The appointment shall take effect from November 15, 2002.

Mr Justice Geoffrey MA Tao-li is currently a Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court.

The Honourable Chief Justice Andrew Kwok-nang LI said, "The appointee is a very competent judge. I am confident that he will continue to contribute to the Judiciary in its commitment to uphold the rule of law and to maintain an independent judicial system."

As Mr Justice MA is married to Madam Justice Maria YUEN, Justice of Appeal in the High Court, Mr Justice LEONG, the Chief Judge of the High Court, having consulted the Chief Justice, has directed that they should not sit in the same division when hearing appeals in the Court of Appeal.

A biographical note on the Hon. Mr Justice MA is as follows:

The Hon. Mr Justice MA was born in Hong Kong in 1956. He obtained the degree of Bachelor of Laws at Birmingham University in 1977 and passed the Bar Examinations at the College of Law in London in the next year. He was called to the Bar in England and Wales, Hong Kong, the State of Victoria in Australia and Singapore in 1978, 1980, 1983 and 1990 respectively.

Mr Ma was in private practice in Hong Kong from 1980 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1993. He was appointed by the Hong Kong Judiciary as Recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2000 and a Judge of the Court of First Instance in 2001.

End/Thursday, November 14, 2002

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