Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung has formally requested High Court Justice Wilson Chan Ka-shun to take early retirement following multiple instances of plagiarism in judicial rulings, a move aimed at preserving public confidence in the judiciary. The request, approved by Cheung, takes effect on July 31, 2026.

Cheung criticized Chan’s repeated copying of submissions in judgments, stating it had negatively impacted the parties involved, placed undue strain on appellate court resources, and diminished trust in Chan’s ability to fulfill his judicial responsibilities impartially. He emphasized that a judge must exercise an independent judicial mind, a principle that Chan’s conduct had compromised.

Chan, born in 1962, joined the judiciary as a District Court judge in 2013 after a long career in private practice. He was appointed to the High Court in 2017, with the typical retirement age for judges being 70. Last year, his caseload was modified to focus mainly on criminal cases that did not require written judgments.

The controversy emerged earlier this year when the Court of Appeal ordered a retrial after finding that Chan had incorporated approximately 95 percent of defense counsel’s arguments verbatim in a 2024 ruling. This incident followed a 2023 reprimand, in which Chan had been found to have copied over 98 percent of a plaintiff’s submissions in an intellectual property dispute. Despite assurances to improve, further copying was discovered shortly thereafter in a property-related case.

Additional instances of extensive copying were identified in cases from 2019 and 2022. In one 2022 case, the Court of Appeal explicitly rejected reliance on Chan’s judgment due to the significant extent of copied material, concluding it suggested a lack of independent judicial consideration.

Cheung described these repeated violations as unacceptable and reiterated the judiciary’s commitment to upholding high ethical standards. He announced plans to reinforce training on judgment writing and reminded judicial officers of the critical importance of avoiding plagiarism.

Notably, Chan had been among the select judges assigned to handle cases related to national security, underscoring the seriousness of the matter. Chief Judge Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor and Cheung jointly issued prior reprimands to Chan in response to the plagiarism issues.

The judiciary has not provided further comment beyond Cheung’s statements.