James Russell (judge)

Sir James Russell, CMG (died 1893), was a Hong Kong colonial administrator and Chief Justice of Hong Kong from 1888 to 1892.

Russell graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Queen's University of Ireland in 1863.

Russell joined the Hong Kong civil service as a cadet in 1865. He was appointed a Government Interpreter in 1867. In 1868 was appointed as private secretary to the Governor of Hong Kong Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell. He ably assisted MacDonnell in dealing with the "blockade of Hong Kong", where the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi, ordered four customs stations to be established in waterways surrounding Hong Kong and Kowloon at Fat Tong Chau, Ma Wan, Cheung Chau and Kowloon Walled City in what was then Chinese territory.

In 1870, he was appointed as Police Magistrate.

In 1874, after reading for the bar while in England on leave, he was called to the bar of Lincoln's Inn.

He continued to hold the position of Police Magistrate until 1881. In that role he acted twice as Attorney General for Hong Kong.

Between 1881 and 1883 Russell served as Colonial Treasurer and Registrar-General.

Russell was appointed Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong in 1883 and acted from time to time as Chief Justice. He was awarded a CMG in 1887 in recognition of his work on the Mixed Commission appointed under the Chefoo Convention to seek to resolve the Chinese customs blockade of Hong Kong.

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