St Hugh’s Governing Body voted to elect Mr Justice Robert Tang to an Honorary Fellowship in November 2019.
He received his legal education in England and obtained an LLB from the University of Birmingham in 1969. He was called to the English Bar at Gray’s Inn in 1969 and to the Hong Kong Bar in 1970. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1986 and became Senior Counsel in 1997. He was a Recorder of the Court of First Instance from September 1995 until his appointment as a Judge of the Court of First Instance in April 2004. He was appointed Justice of Appeal in January 2005 and Vice President of the Court of Appeal in November 2006. He was appointed a Non-Permanent Hong Kong Judge of the Court of Final Appeal in September 2010. From 2012 to 2018, he served as a Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal.
Whilst in private practice, Mr Justice Tang was, at various times, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association, the Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Boards, the Independent Police Complaints Council, the Town Planning Appeal Board, the Takeovers and Mergers Panel, and the Securities and Futures Appeal Panel. He was also, at various times, a member of the Judicial Service Commission, the Appeal Board on Public Meetings and Processions, the ICAC Complaints Committee and the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and a non-Executive Director of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority.
Mr Justice Tang was a member of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, which recommends judicial appointments, from 2014 to 2018. He has been the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Legal Education and Training since 12 August 2017. He became a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal in 2018. He is a trustee of the S. K. Yee Medical Foundation and a member of the International Advisory Board of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre.
Mr Justice Tang was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star in 2004 and the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2018. He is an Honorary Bencher of Gray’s Inn.
