Hong Kong judge Wilson Chan faces second reprimand over plagiarism of 95% of submissions
Sixth instance of copying; retrial ordered after near-total plagiarism of defense counsel's work.
Hong Kong’s chief justice will once again reprimand High Court judge Wilson Chan Ka-shun after an investigation found he plagiarized approximately 95% of the defense counsel’s submissions in a 2024 ruling. The Court of Appeal earlier this month ordered a retrial, calling it “impermissible judicial copying.” The judiciary confirmed Wednesday that Chan will receive a “serious reprimand” from Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, his second such rebuke since 2023.
This marks at least the sixth instance of extensive plagiarism by Chan. Following prior incidents in 2023 and 2024, the judiciary had already adjusted his workload last year, assigning him only to criminal cases that did not require written judgments. Despite these measures, the latest judgment again contained large copied passages. Chief Judge of the High Court Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor will also be involved in issuing the reprimand and requiring Chan to undergo targeted training.
- Judge Wilson Chan plagiarized ~95% of defense counsel’s submissions in a 2024 judgment, leading to a retrial.
- This is at least his sixth instance of extensive copying since 2023, and his second formal reprimand.
- He was reassigned to criminal cases without written judgments after previous incidents, but still copied again.
Why It Matters
Judicial integrity undermined; repeated plagiarism erodes public trust in Hong Kong’s legal system.