The details of the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law reveal that the judge must be appointed by the chief executive

Political situation

Author: Sha Banshan

2020-06-20 17:31

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress held in Beijing for three consecutive days closed today (20th), and the meeting has already reviewed the "Draft of the National Security Law of the Minato City." Shen Chunyao, director of the Legal Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, explained the principles, framework and details of the "Hong Kong version of the National Security Law" during the meeting.

In the "Hong Kong version of the National Security Law" dispute, the role of judge is one of the focuses. It is reported that according to the content of the "Xinhua News Agency", in the future, the criminal procedure for considering related cases will be appointed by the Chief Executive from magistrates, district court judges, judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, judges of the Court of Appeal and judges of the Court of Final Appeal. This will be different from the tradition since the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal appointed judges to hear cases.

In addition, the "Draft" provisions of the "Hong Kong version of the National Security Law" do not prohibit foreign judges from handling national security law cases as once heard from outside.

The details of the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law indicate that the judge must be appointed by the chief executive, breaking the tradition of chief judge appointment. (Profile picture/government news network)

It is reported that the manuscript on Shen Chunyao’s speech pointed out that from the enforcement level, from law enforcement, prosecution to trial, it is mainly executed by Hong Kong. However, the provisions also set a "threshold". All judges handling national case law must be appointed by the chief executive. The practice is different from the current judicial operation. The specific approach is that it is understood that the criminal procedure of the relevant cases will be appointed by the Chief Executive from the magistrates, district court judges, judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, judges of the Court of Appeal and judges of the Court of Final Appeal.

At present, the chief judge of the Court of Final Appeal appoints the judge who is trying the case. In the future, hearing national security law cases will become a "special case."

In addition, the article also stipulates that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall exercise jurisdiction over the vast majority of criminal cases provided for in this legislation. The SAR has jurisdiction over national security crimes such as the investigation, prosecution, trial and execution of penalties and other litigation procedures, and this law and the local laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall apply. The trial of national security crimes under the jurisdiction of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall follow the public prosecution procedure.

The "Draft" emphasizes that cases under the jurisdiction of the central government are only under certain circumstances, and the situation is rare, and will not affect the independent judicial power and final adjudication power enjoyed by the SAR under the Basic Law. The "Draft" note emphasizes that "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's national security should follow the important principles of the rule of law such as respect for and protection of human rights." The Draft clearly requires that the protection of national security should respect and protect human rights. It also states that the protection of the Basic Law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the relevant provisions applicable to Hong Kong include speech, Freedom of the press, press, freedom of association, assembly, procession, demonstration, and other rights and freedoms are consistent with the spirit of international conventions.

According to the Basic Law, judges are appointed by the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in accordance with the recommendations of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Committee, and must be approved by the Legislative Council. As usual, the committee is an independent statutory organization established under the Judicial Officers Recommendation Committee Ordinance (Chapter 92 of the Laws of Hong Kong). It is composed of 9 members. The Chief Judge of the Court of Final Appeal serves as the ex-officio chairman and the Secretary for Justice serves as the ex-officio member. The remaining 7 are appointed by the Chief Executive, including two judges, one barrister and one lawyer, and three persons who are not involved in legal practice.

There are currently 23 judges in the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, including 15 foreign judges from the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, all of whom are non-permanent judges. According to Article 92 of the Basic Law, "Judges and other judicial personnel should be selected based on their own judicial and professional abilities and can be employed from other common law applicable areas." Therefore, judges in Hong Kong have no nationality restrictions.

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