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Written by: Li Huina
2020-12-31 19:16
Last update date: 2020-12-31 19:16
Li Zhiying, the founder of Next Media Group, was granted bail by the High Court for violations of the "Hong Kong National Security Act" and fraud. However, the Department of Justice refused to accept the decision and appealed to the Court of Final Appeal.
After hearing the submissions from both parties in the morning, the final court announced that it would accept the appeal in the afternoon and detained Lebanon during the period at the request of the Department of Justice.
In the interpretation of the judgment, the High Court Judge Li Yunteng misunderstood or applied Article 42 of the National Security Law when he granted bail, so it granted permission to appeal on how to correctly interpret the regulations.
The Final Court also believes that if Li continues to be granted bail, it is equivalent to assuming that the decision of the judge of the High Court is correct, which is incorrect in principle.
The 73-year-old Li Zhiying was accused of colluding with foreign powers to endanger national security. He was charged with violating the "Hong Kong National Security Law", and was also sued for breaching the lease and defrauding the Science and Technology Park Company. The High Court approved bail last Wednesday, but the bail conditions are strict. But 8 days after he was released on bail, he was remanded again.
The CFA believes that the scope and impact of Article 42 of the National Security Law involve significant and extensive importance
According to the Department of Justice, the appeal involves two major and broadly important legal points, namely (1) Is the decision of the High Court on bail a "final decision" in the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance?
(2) How to correctly interpret Article 42 of the National Security Law?
In addition, the Department of Justice also requested that Lebanon be detained before the appeal is concluded.
As far as the first legal point is concerned, the CFA believes that the decision of the High Court on bail is not a "final decision." The prosecution has the right to apply for review or revocation of bail. Therefore, the CFA believes that there is nothing to dispute about this point.
As for the second legal point of view, the CFA believes that the scope and impact covered by Article 42 of the National Security Law involve significant and wide-ranging importance, especially when it involves other provisions of the National Security Law, the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, and the Civil and Political Rights International Convention, the Basic Law.
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Li Zhiying released on bail | Department of Justice appeals to the final court for acceptance and scheduled for trial in February next year and remand Li
Alleging that if Zhun Li continues to be released on bail is equivalent to assuming that the decision of the High Court Judge Li Yunteng is correct
The Final Court held that when the High Court Judge Li Yunteng granted bail, he misinterpreted or applied Article 42 of the National Security Law. Therefore, he granted permission to appeal on the second legal point, and the Final Court also has the right to handle appeals.
Regarding the prosecution's request to detain Lebanon before the outcome of the appeal, the Court of Final Appeal stated that in Article 35 of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance, the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal have the right to make relevant orders, and the Court of Final Appeal is the court that grants leave to appeal. It should also have the right to deal with it.
Although Li Zhiying requested to maintain bail, the prosecution believed that the prevention of Lebanon would cause irreparable damage to national security and invalidated the appeal and requested his detention.
The Final Court believed that if Li was allowed to continue to be released on bail, it was equivalent to assuming that the decision of the High Court Judge Li Yunteng was correct, which was not correct in principle, so it decided to detain Li until the appeal results.
Case number: FAMP1/2020
The Hong Kong version of the National Security Law Li Zhiying
