National security law preserves HK judiciary
After the draft
law to safeguard national security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (HKSAR) was reviewed by China’s top legislature and some details were
released on Saturday, Western countries, media, Hong Kong opposition
politicians and some legal professionals said they fear the law would harm the
city’s judicial independence. But senior Hong Kong legal experts said the draft
law is in accordance with the Basic Law.
The draft law,
which was reviewed at the meeting of the 19th Session of the 13th National
People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee which ended on Saturday, states that
the commissioner’s office for national security affairs in Hong Kong and
relevant national authorities would exercise jurisdiction over a very small
number of crimes concerning national security under special circumstances.
The chief
executive of the HKSAR government shall appoint judges to handle crimes that
endanger national security, the draft law says.
The West and
Hong Kong oppositionists are using these details to accuse China’s central
government of “undermining the judicial independence of the city” and the “one
country, two systems” principle.
Ronny Tong
Ka-wah, a senior barrister in the HKSAR and former chairman of the Hong Kong
Bar Association, told the Global Times that the newly unveiled draft of the
national security law for Hong Kong makes him “reassured,” and that it was “strange”
that the Hong Kong Bar Association said judges appointed by the chief executive
to deal with crimes against national security were “ruled by man” because the
appointments are based on the Basic Law.
Tong said he
would have concerns if the national security law could damage Hong Kong’s
judicial independence. But after seeing the main content of the draft law, he
felt at ease “especially the relevant provisions for the international covenant
on civil and political rights, and international covenant on economic, social
and cultural rights mentioned in the draft.”
Elsie Leung
Oi-sie, the deputy director of the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee of the NPC
Standing Committee and a former Secretary of Justice, told the Global Times
that in Western countries, the central governments also get involved once a
case involves separatism and national sovereignty. “Spain’s jurisdiction over
its autonomous region of Catalonia is a good example. The secessionist leaders
from Catalonia were tried in the country’s Supreme Court in Madrid.”
When it comes to
cases involving “Tibet separatism” and “Xinjiang separatism,” central
authorities need to step in and handle these situations. Hong Kong law
enforcement agencies have no experience in dealing with these types of cases,
the former official said.
“Of course, the
meaning of ‘specific circumstances’ and ‘very few cases’ depends on the
detailed provisions in the law,” she said.
Tong dismissed
an accusation by Anita Yip Hau-ki, the vice chairman of the Bar Association,
who said these appointments would mean “the rule of man.” Tong said Yip’s claim
is “strange,” as the Basic Law states that judges in the HKSAR are appointed by
the chief executive on the recommendation of an independent commission composed
of local judges and eminent persons from the legal profession and other
sectors.
“Hong Kong’s
general law and some administrative regulations also give the chief executive
the authority to appoint judges for special cases, such as major public
investigations,” said Tong, noting that “whoever is appointed by the chief
executive will hear cases independently. It’s not the chief executive hearing
the cases, so I don’t see anything that undermines the independence of the
judiciary in Hong Kong.”
“I don’t want to
be too critical of them [some people of the Bar Association] because I was once
the chairman of the association. I just hope professional organizations could
speak out professionally,” Tong said.
Senior legal
figures should understand Hong Kong's legal system, Tong said, while noting
that “given that they understand it, I wonder why they still made such
comments. That made me feel very strange.”
Source: Global
Times
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