Charles Arthur Ching GBM QC SC (Chinese: 沈澄, 7 October 1935[1]–30 November 2000[2]) was a judge in Hong Kong.

Charles Ching
沈澄
Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal
In office
1 July 1997 – 6 October 2000
Serving with Henry Litton (1997–2000), Kemal Bokhary and Patrick Chan (2000)
Chief JusticeAndrew Li
Preceded byCourt Established
Succeeded byRobert Ribeiro
Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association
In office
January 1975 – January 1977
Preceded byArchie Zimmern
Succeeded byHenry Litton
Personal details
Born(1935-10-07)7 October 1935
Hong Kong
Died30 November 2000(2000-11-30) (aged 65)
Hong Kong
NationalityAustralian
EducationKing's College, Taunton
Alma materUniversity College, Oxford (MA)
OccupationBarrister-at-law

Born Charles Arthur Ching into an intellectual family in Hong Kong, Ching was educated in Hong Kong and England. He was a scholar both at King's College, Taunton and at University College, Oxford,[3] where he graduated with honours in jurisprudence.

After passing his bar exam in 1959, Ching commenced his practice of law in Hong Kong, and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1974.[3] During this period, he was regarded by some as the most successful barrister in Hong Kong's history.[2]

Ching was later appointed to the Court of Appeal in 1995 and the Court of Final Appeal in 1997,[3] where he served with distinction.[2] He resigned in 2000 for health reasons and died soon after. A scholarship named after him was set up by the Hong Kong Bar Association. Throughout his career both as advocate and as judge Mr. Justice Ching was an advocate for the merging of the legal professions in Hong Kong (barristers and solicitors).

References

edit
  1. ^ http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr99-00/english/panels/ajls/papers/2387e04.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  2. ^ a b c "Judge dies weeks after retirement". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Former Judges - Mr Charles Arthur CHING, GBM (Deceased)". Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
Legal offices
Preceded by Chairman of Hong Kong Bar Association
1975—1977
Succeeded by
New office Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal
1997–2000
Served alongside: Henry Litton (1997–2000), Kemal Bokhary, Patrick Chan (2000)
Succeeded by