There is no absolute separation of powers, national security judge Patrick Chan told Hong Kong teachers in a national security education seminar on Wednesday.

Chan, one of the non-permanent judges handpicked by Chief Executive Carrie Lam to handle national security cases, also presided over Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai’s bail hearing at the Court of Final Appeal on Monday.

Speaking at a Knowledge Enrichment Seminar on National Security Education organized by the government on Wednesday, Chan said the separation of powers involve the rule of law, judicial independence, human rights and freedom, but there is no absolute definition of the rule of law, which evolves over time. He nonetheless underscored the need for everyone to abide by the law. “If there isn’t a rule of law, society will not progress.”

Powers, in separation of powers, also depend on the authority and responsibility. “It is more accurate to call it a division of authority, as the powers should not be working against each other,” he said. Judges cannot make decisions for the government and can only raise suggestions, said Chan, emphasizing judges cannot “cross boundaries.”

He stressed that the common law principle is applied differently in every country as the political system is different, but it is all based on the law. No country in the world has absolute separation of powers, he added.

On whether Beijing is undermining the city’s judicial independence by issuing interpretation of the Basic law, Chan said it depends on whether the National People’s Congress is influencing the judiciary or the trials. The national security law serves to protect human rights and the rule of law, he reiterated.

His remarks came after Chief Executive Carrie Lam stirred controversy in September last year by denying the separation of powers between the executive, legislature and judiciary in Hong Kong’s constitutional system.

Wong, a teacher who participated in the seminar mandatory for new teachers, found Chan’s sharing superficial. The seminar did not only simplify the content of national security, it also failed to encourage its audience to think critically or answer to teachers’ need for actual discussion, he added. “If there is no absolute definition of these concepts, then why can’t we interpret them ourselves as teachers?”

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