Denys Tudor Emil Roberts

Sir Denys Roberts
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong
In office 1979–1987
Preceded by	Geoffrey Briggs
Succeeded by	Ti-liang Yang
Chief Secretary of Hong Kong (Colonial Secretary 1973–76)
In office 1973–1976
Preceded by	Hugh Norman-Walker
Succeeded by	Jack Cater
Attorney General of Hong Kong
In office 1966–1973
Preceded by	Maurice Heenan
Succeeded by	John William Dixon Hobley
Personal details
Born	(1921-01-19)19 January 1921 London, United Kingdom
Died	20 May 2013(2013-05-20) (aged 92) Norfolk, United Kingdom
Spouse(s)	Brenda Marsh (m. 1949; div. 1973) Anna Fiona Dollar Alexander (m. 1985)
Children	3

Experience

Barrister-at-law (1950–1953) Crown Counsel, Nyasaland (1953–1959) Attorney-General, Gibraltar (1960–1962) Ex officio member of Executive and Legislative Council of Gibraltar (1960–1962) Solicitor-General, Hong Kong (1962–1966) Attorney-General, Hong Kong (1966–1973) Ex officio member of Executive and Legislative Council of Hong Kong (1960–1962) Colonial Secretary, Hong Kong (1973–1976) Chief Secretary, Hong Kong (1976–1978) Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong (1979–1988) Chief Justice of Brunei Darussalam (1979–2001) President of the Court of Appeal of Bermuda (1988–1994) President of Marylebone Cricket Club (1989–1990) Non-permanent Hong Kong Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (1997–2003) President of the Court of Appeal of Brunei Darussalam (2002–2003)

Dato Seri Paduka Sir Denys Tudor Emil Roberts, KBE, SPMB, QC (Traditional Chinese: 羅弼時爵士, 19 January 1921 – 20 May 2013) was a British colonial official and judge. Joining the colonial civil service as a Crown Counsel in Nyasaland (now Malawi) in 1953, he became Attorney General of Gibraltar in 1960. In 1962, he was posted to Hong Kong as Solicitor-General, and was successively promoted to Attorney-General in 1966, Colonial Secretary/Chief Secretary in 1973 and Chief Justice in 1979. He was the first and only Attorney-General to become both Colonial Secretary (and Chief Secretary) in Hong Kong. Never having been a judge before, he was appointed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1979 and was the first and only Colonial Secretary (and Chief Secretary) of Hong Kong to receive such appointment.

Roberts was the last non-Chinese person to hold the post of Chief Justice of Hong Kong. After retiring in 1988, he had served as President of the Court of Appeal of Bermuda, Chief Justice and President of Court of Appeal of Brunei Darussalam before finally retiring from the judicial service in 2003.

Roberts was born on 19 January 1921 in London, England, to William David Roberts, a barrister-at-law, and Dorothy Elizabeth Roberts. He was educated in Aldenham School in his childhood, and later studied law in Wadham College, Oxford in 1942. His education was interrupted when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery on 2 November 1943. During the Second World War, he served in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, and achieved the rank of captain. He was posted to India when the war ended in 1945.

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