Foreign Judges in the Macau Special Administrative Region of China

Although Macau became a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China in 1999, foreign judges from Portugal have continued to be appointed to Macau’s courts. Macau is remarkable for the way that the institution of foreign judges is emblematically inscribed in the Basic Law, and in this context, foreign judges have a dual value, not only bringing their individual expertise and judicial values to the Macau judiciary, but also importing the characteristics and values of the legal system in which they originate. This dual role helps to fulfil the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ policy and uphold its corollaries, including the continuance of a legal system that is different from that in the Mainland, based on the principles of judicial independence and impartiality. The chapter highlights two worrying trends: the declining number and proportion of foreign judges appointed to Macau’s courts, and the exclusion of foreign judges from cases involving ‘national security’ issues.