Chen Hongyi, a member of the Basic Law Committee and a professor of constitutional law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong, told "Hong Kong 01" that this time the National People's Congress did not deny the ruling of the Court of Final Appeal on Li Zhiying's hiring of overseas barristers. Supplements were made to the implementation procedures of the National Security Law, stating that a certificate issued by the Chief Executive is required when overseas legal representatives are hired for national security cases.
Therefore, he does not think that the interpretation of the law will cause unfairness to Li Zhiying, because after the scope of application of the certificate is established, Li Zhiying has the right to apply for a certificate from the chief executive.
Chen Hongyi pointed out that this interpretation involves Articles 14 and 47 of the National Security Law. The determination of whether relevant evidence materials involve state secrets shall be submitted to the Chief Executive and a certificate issued by the Chief Executive shall be obtained.
Interpretation touches only on procedural arrangements
He analyzed that this interpretation only involves some procedural issues in the implementation of the National Security Law, because it was not clearly stated in the past that the certificate issued by the chairman of the National Security Council and the Chief Executive can be applied to the employment of foreign law enforcement officers in cases involving the National Security Law. Representative matters: With the interpretation of the law this time, there are examples to follow.
Supplements to existing laws without compromising the rule of law
Chen Hongyi does not agree that this interpretation of the law is like suddenly adding a certificate to the local legal system. He emphasizes that the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is only interpreting some provisions that have been stipulated in the law to supplement the original law.
Therefore, he believes that there will be no impact on the rule of law in Hong Kong.
Chen Hongyi: Will not cause injustice to Li Zhiying
As for whether this interpretation will be unfair to Li Zhiying, who has been approved by the Court of Final Appeal to hire overseas lawyers?
Chen Hongyi does not agree with this statement, because the ruling of the Court of Final Appeal approving Lai Zhiying's hiring of overseas lawyers is only to grant the qualifications of overseas lawyers to come to Hong Kong to appear in court according to the law, not to approve the relevant lawyers to enter the country. There is a fundamental difference between the two.
He reiterated that the Hong Kong National Security Law has long stipulated that there is a certificate system, but everyone did not understand the scope of application of the certificate before, and before Li Zhiying applied to the Final Court, he did not first apply to the chief executive according to the original intention of the National Security Law. A certificate has been issued, so there is no need to add new requirements.
He reiterated that the interpretation of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress did not deny the employment of overseas lawyers, provided that an application must first be made to the chief executive and a certificate issued, so Jimmy Lai can also apply to the chief executive.