Honorary University Fellows
Citation for The Honourable Mr Justice Patrick Chan delivered by Professor Johannes M M Chan, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Honorary University Fellowships Presentation Ceremony on December 16, 2003:
The Honourable Mr Justice Patrick Chan, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, was born and educated in Hong Kong.
An alumnus of this University he graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree in 1974 and received his Postgraduate Certificate in Laws the following year.
In 1976 he was called to the Hong Kong Bar and he remained in private practice until his appointment as a District Judge in 1987. Four years later he was appointed Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court and a High Court Judge a year later. In July 1997 he was appointed the first Chief Judge of the High Court in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In September 2000, he was appointed a Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal.
Mr Justice Chan is best known for his contribution towards the development of a bilingual legal system. He has served on various judicial committees advocating for the greater use of Chinese in judicial proceedings and the translation of English judgments and hence promoting the common law in the Chinese language. He deeply believes that common law principles encapsulated in judicial judgments should be made available to the ordinary members of the public in the language with which the public is familiar, and to the wide Chinese community all over the world, particularly in China, and in this regard, he has made immense contribution.
Mr Justice Chan has made many contributions to his alma mater, serving as a member of our Council and being actively involved in the review of the University's governance and management. His advice and support is greatly appreciated.
He has also played an instrumental role in the judicial placement scheme which is organized annually for mainland scholars who embark on a training programme in common law at the University. This scheme offers mainland scholars a placement in the Judiciary as part of their training in Hong Kong.
There is no doubt that Mr Justice Chan has rendered invaluable service to the University's Faculty of Law. He was the Chairman of the Joint Examination Board on Postgraduate Certificate in Laws set up to ensure that a common standard would be maintained for postgraduate law students of both the University of Hong Kong and the City University entering the legal profession. He is presently a member of the PCLL Academic Board of the University's Faculty of Law. He has frequently participated in training programmes for law students and is also an honorary lecturer in the Department of Professional Legal Education of the Faculty. Without his assistance many meaningful programmes may not have reached fruition.
It gives me great pleasure, Mr Pro-Chancellor, to present the Honourable Mr Justice Patrick Chan for the Honorary University Fellowship in recognition of his contributions to Hong Kong and the University.