Henry Litton

Who is Henry Litton?

Henry Litton CBE, GBM is a retired judge in Hong Kong.

Born into a Eurasian family in Hong Kong, Henry Litton excelled in school during his early years in England and was educated in King's College, Taunton and Merton College, Oxford, where he graduated with honors in jurisprudence.

After passing the Bar exam in 1959, Litton entered into private practice in Hong Kong where he was eminently successful as a trial lawyer. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1970 and co-founded the Hong Kong Law Journal with Gerald de Basto QC, another local barrister. He also served as Chairman of the Bar from 1971 to 1973, from 1977 to 1980 and again from 1983 to 1985.

Litton was appointed in 1989 an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his contribution to the law and was elevated to the bench in 1992 as a Justice of Appeal. He rose steadily through the ranks, becoming Vice President of the Court of Appeal in 1995 and a Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal in 1997, when British colonial rule in Hong Kong ended and China resumed its sovereignty over the region.

He assumed senior status three years later, citing personal reasons. He still hears cases on a part-time basis as a non-permanent judge of the Court he served.