Top Canadian judge steps down from Hong Kong's top court following other resignations

Hong Kong officials say a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada is stepping down from the city's top court. Beverly McLachlin would end her term serving as a non-permanent overseas judge at Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal. Monday's announcement follows a raft of other overseas judges’ resignations from the court amid concerns about Hong Kong’s judicial independence. Officials didn't give details about McLachlin's departure. A British judge who resigned from the same court last week, Jonathan Sumption, says he stepped down because the rule of law in the city is in "grave danger." He described to the Financial Times the judges as being intimidated by a “darkening political mood” in the Asian financial hub.