The Hong Kong Legislative Council passed the amendment to the "Legal Practitioners Ordinance" on the third reading on the 10th. Overseas lawyers or barristers without Hong Kong qualifications will not be allowed to participate in any form of work that endangers national security. Lawyers defended him.

(Associated Press file photo)

[Compilation of Zhang Peiyuan/Comprehensive Report] The Hong Kong Legislative Council passed a bill on amendments to lawyers’ practice in Hong Kong on the third reading without objection on the 10th. In the future, whether foreign lawyers can participate in national security cases in Hong Kong will be decided by the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region rather than the courts .

The Hong Kong government said the move was to implement the spirit of the earlier interpretation of the law by the National People's Congress of China. Critics said that the participation of foreign lawyers in the national security case requires the approval of the chief executive and the right to review again, which undermines a fair trial and the defendant's right to choose a lawyer.

Chief Executive's Approval Required for Foreign Lawyers to Participate in National Security Cases

The "Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill" proposed by the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Government is to implement the decision made by the National People's Congress in December last year when it interpreted the National Security Law in Hong Kong - whether foreign lawyers can appear in court in national security cases It is up to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong to decide—it will be further enacted as a formal regulation in the form of an amendment, which means that foreign lawyers will not be able to participate in national security cases in Hong Kong in the future, unless the Chief Executive of Hong Kong has sufficient reasons to believe that the participation of the foreign lawyer will not violate the interests of national security.

This requirement will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

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The amendment originated from Jimmy Lai, the founder of Next Media Group, who was accused of violating the Hong Kong National Security Law. The Hong Kong Department of Justice attempted to prevent Jimmy Lai from appointing British Queen's Counsel Tim Owen (Tim Owen) as a defense lawyer, but his appeal was rejected by the Hong Kong SAR Court of Final Appeal Rejected; Hong Kong Chief Executive Lee Ka-chao therefore asked the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, which has the power to interpret the Hong Kong National Security Law, to interpret relevant provisions to clarify whether overseas lawyers who do not have the qualifications to practice in Hong Kong can participate in local national security cases.

Hong Kong Secretary of Justice Lam Ting-kwok defended the amendment in the Legislative Council, saying that it complies with the Hong Kong National Security Law to respect and protect human rights and freedoms, and does not deprive anyone of their judicial rights, not to mention that Hong Kong has more than 100 senior counsel and Fifteen hundred barristers are enough for the defendant to choose a suitable defender among them.

However, Li Enhao, a Hong Kong legal scholar, believes that the ambiguity of the definition of national security cases in the amendment bill means that the Hong Kong government can use the overly broad definition of national security as an excuse to allow or prohibit foreign lawyers from participating in criminal or civil cases in Hong Kong.