Former Hong Kong Chief Justice Andrew Li issued another statement on the Hong Kong version of National Security Law yesterday. Rather unusually, he criticized the Law for allowing the Chief Executive to select judges for and the central authorities to exercise jurisdiction over cases that jeopardise national security, pointing out that the independence of Hong Kong’s judiciary will be undermined. A legal practitioner remarked that Li had seldom made outright criticisms when controversies over legal matters erupted between China and Hong Kong. The detrimental effects of the above provisions on Hong Kong’s judiciary independence are so obvious; “otherwise, Li will not be so frank in his criticisms”. He added that as far as he knows, Li is not alone in his views; “many people in the judicial and legal professions, even conservatives, shared the same views” and worried that the international community will no longer trust the Hong Kong judiciary; “the impact is far reaching and profound."

The legal practitioner said that legal professionals in Hong Kong have always been conservative, and Li, as the former Chief Justice of the Final Court of Appeal, has been very mild in his statements on legal controversies and rarely made blunt criticisms in the past. For example, last year, when the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress criticised the decision by Hong Kong Court to rule the SAR's emergency anti-mask law unconstitutional, Li just remarked that he was "surprised and worried". By contrast, Li pointed out outspokenly that some provisions of the National Security Law will undermine Hong Kong’s judiciary independence. It is therefore very obvious that the damages will be severe.

In fact, as far as he knows, even legal professionals who tend to be pro-government and conservative have strong reservations about the proposed provisions. “They understand that judiciary independence is the criteria for international community to conclude whether “one country, two systems” is still working. Although there have been many criticisms of court decisions in recent years, the judges believe that they are able to stand guard over the bottom line. But if the proposed provisions are implemented, they are doubtful if the international community will still believe that there is judiciary independence in Hong Kong.

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