Top Canadian judge will step down from Hong Kong’s top court following other resignations

LONDON (AP) — Hong Kong officials say a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada is stepping down from the city’s top court. Beverly McLachlin will end her term serving as a non-permanent overseas judge at Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal. Canadian media report the judge says she has reached age 80 and intends to spend more time with family. Monday’s announcement follows a raft of other overseas judges’ resignations from the court amid concerns about Hong Kong’s judicial independence. A British judge who recently resigned from the court, Jonathan Sumption, says he stepped down because the rule of law in the city is in “grave danger.” He described to the Financial Times the judges as being intimidated by a “darkening political mood” in the Asian financial hub.