History
Temple Chambers was formed in 1977. Its first head of chambers was Richard Mills-Owens, who was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1979 and conferred with the title of Honorary Life Member of the Hong Kong Bar Association in 2009.
Chambers has a strong tradition of judicial and public service, the ability and integrity of members having been recognised in appointments to all three branches of government – judiciary, legislature, executive – and international legal bodies. Key appointments include:
- The Hon Geoffrey Ma, who was Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal from 2010 to 2021, after which he re-joined Temple Chambers to practise as an arbitrator and mediator.
- The Hon Mr Justice Ribeiro and the Hon Mr Justice Fok, both Permanent Judges of the Court of Final Appeal.
- The Hon Madam Justice Yuen, the Hon Mr Justice Barma, the Hon Mr Justice Au, the Hon Mr Justice Lam and the Hon Mr Justice Chow, all Justices of Appeal of the Court of Appeal.
- The Hon Mr Justice Waung (retired), the Hon Mr Justice Ng, the Hon Madam Justice Wong, the Hon Mr Justice Coleman, the Hon Madam Justice Linda Chan and the Hon Madam Justice Cheng, all judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court.
- Professor Anselmo Reyes SC, who was formerly a judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in Hong Kong and is now an international judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court.
- HH Judge Fi-Lan Chua (retired) and HH Judge Winnie Tsui of the District Court.
- Michael Thomas SC, who was the Attorney-General of Hong Kong from 1983 to 1988, after which he joined Temple Chambers and practised at the Bar until retirement in 2013, his contribution to the legal field being recognised by an Honorary Life Membership of the Hong Kong Bar Association.
- Wong Yan-Lung SC, who was Secretary for Justice from 2005 to 2012 prior to joining Chambers in 2013.
- Rimsky Yuen SC, who was Secretary for Justice from 2012 to 2018, after which he re-joined Temple Chambers. He has since additionally been appointed (together with Professor Anselmo Reyes SC) to the International Commercial Expert Committee, a body established in 2018 for the purpose of facilitating the work of the International Commercial Court of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China.
- Ronny Tong SC, who was a Legislative Councillor from 2004 to 2015, and is currently a member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong.
In addition to judicial and public service, members have played active roles in the administration of the Bar. Many have been members of the Bar Council (or its predecessor the Bar Committee). Ronny Tong SC was Chairman of the Bar in 1999 and 2000, Rimsky Yuen SC held the same position in 2007 and 2008, Russell Coleman SC (now Mr Justice Coleman) was Chairman in 2009 and 2010 and Paul Shieh SC was Chairman in 2013 and 2014. Victor Dawes SC was elected Chairman in January 2022 and continues to serve in that role.
