Just and secure
Hong Kong’s justice department and court will continue to take the main responsibility for prosecution and judicial work after the national security law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) is established, Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, Hong Kong secretary for justice, told the Global Times.
As national security affairs are under the central government’s management, the possibility should not be ruled out that, under some special circumstances, China’s central government would reserve management jurisdiction over cases that severely damage national security, she said. This is based on the understanding of the decision made by the
National People’s Congress (NPC) on May 28.
Cheng noted that the Hong
Kong regional government and the central government share a “mutual goal” in safeguarding national security and the independence of the Hong Kong judiciary will be sustained, so the public and legal professionals do not need to worry overly. The latest draft approved by the NPC clarifies that the Hong Kong SAR should complete its system and mechanism to safeguard national security and strengthen law enforcement.
She said this means that departments of law enforcement, prosecution and the judiciary should shoulder the main work of safeguarding national security according to the national security law and existing Hong Kong regional laws. For example, Hong Kong’s Department of Justice will continue to take responsibility for prosecution and postprosecution procedures of most national security cases.
If the suspects are Hong Kong residents and are arrested in Hong Kong, the cases, after the Department of Justice decides whether to initiate prosecution, should be handled by Hong Kong courts, according to the independence between the national security law and the local judiciary, Cheng said. “As far as I can see, we think that Hong Kong judiciary still remains independent without any damage.”
The Hong Kong Bar Association proposed that the National Security Law for Hong Kong should deal with the provisions in accordance with common law principles, which should be terminated after the Hong Kong SAR itself has made legislation for national security.
However, “national security should be under the central government’s management,” Cheng noted.
She also stressed that, after the establishment of the national security law, the Department of Justice will try its best to deploy manpower to safeguard national security.
While the Hong Kong Police Force is mulling the establishment of a special unit for handling national security-relevant cases, Cheng said it was important not to “demonize” the special law enforcement department or
speculate on investigation of related cases.
China added contents of respect for human rights to the Constitution in 2004 when the country revised the Constitution.
“In fact, most countries in the world are statutory states. Only a minority of countries and regions, mainly Commonwealth countries and their previous colonies, use common law. But we would not say statutory countries like Germany and France [have legal defects]. Chinese legal principles and concepts are similar to those of Germany and France. So we should avoid the incorrect thinking that ‘statute law’ is problematic,” Cheng said.
When it comes to the nationality of judges on national security cases, Cheng said the situation of Hong Kong is very special. Judges dealing with national security affairs in most countries in the world must be citizens of their own countries. Therefore, if there is a nationality requirement for judges handling cases involving national security, they should “understand such expectations.” She expressed her hope that the international common law and the Basic Law arrangements can be taken into account.
“We think that Hong Kong judiciary still remains independent without any damage.” Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah
Hong Kong secretary for justice