China gives Hong Kong leader power to bar overseas lawyers in national security cases

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31/12/2022 01:48

HONG KONG, Dec 31 (Reuters) - China's top lawmaking body
has given Hong Kong leader John Lee the power to bar foreign
lawyers from national security cases, removing the decision from
the city's courts, in a move likely to further fuel concerns
over judicial independence. 
    The use of foreign lawyers by both prosecutors and the
defence have long been part of the former British colony's rule
of law traditions. 
    The move comes after a Hong Kong court this month postponed
a national security trial against media tycoon and China critic
Jimmy Lai to September, to give time for the ruling by China's
National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC). 
    In November, Lee had asked the NPCSC to weigh in on the
matter after a series of failed attempts by the Department of
Justice to block a British lawyer, Timothy Owen, from defending
Lai.
    Critics say Beijing's intervention in this landmark legal
case undermines Hong Kong's judicial independence, after a panel
of three senior judges on the city's Court of Final Appeal in
November rejected a government bid to block Owen from
representing Lai. 
    The NPCSC ruling said Hong Kong courts must now obtain
approval from the chief executive before admitting any foreign
lawyer without local qualifications to work on national security
cases. 
    If the courts do not do so, the city's national security
committee, which is led by the chief executive and Beijing's
liaison office chief, will make a decision on the matter. 
    Under the national security law, the decisions made by the
committee cannot be challenged by a judicial review. 
    Lee said in a news conference late on Friday the decision
only involves "a very small area" as they are only looking at
whether overseas lawyers should be allowed to take part in
national security cases. 
    "Beyond national security cases, then they are most welcome,
provided that they satisfied the procedure to obtain an ad hoc
admission approval by the court," Lee said.
    Legal scholar Eric Lai said on Twitter that the decision
"creates a de facto political-legal committee for Hong Kong", as
judicial independence vanishes when executive authorities can
override a court decision without being challenged by a judicial
review. 
        Jimmy Lai, who has been in custody for nearly two years,
faces possible life imprisonment under the China-imposed
national security law, for charges including alleged collusion
with foreign countries.
    The founder of now shut pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily,
Lai is one of the most prominent Hong Kong critics of China's
Communist Party leadership, including Xi Jinping.
 (Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom; Editing by Anne Marie
Roantree and Kim Coghill)
 ((Jessie.Pang@thomsonreuters.com;))