The first Hongkonger charged under a seven-month-old national security law will stand trial without a jury, in a departure from the city’s common law tradition, news media has reported.

Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng told the defendant’s lawyers earlier this month that the arrangement was due to “the personal safety of jurors and their family members,” AFP reported, citing a source.

The claim, if true, would fly in the face of 176 years of trial by jury under Hong Kong’s common law legal system. The High Court’s Court of First Instance, which will hear the case, usually conducts trials with seven to nine jurors.

On Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she would not comment on ongoing court cases, adding that her administration would follow the letter of the law.

“If there are no applicable provisions in the national security law, then we would not be permitted to take any action,” she said.

Lam said that Hong Kong was the primary authority for implementing the national security law, which was “already a very strong indication of trust” in the city’s systems and institutions.

Tong Ying-kit, 23, is the first person in Hong Kong to face trial on national security charges. He was arrested last July, soon after Beijing imposed the law on June 30, for allegedly driving his motorcycle into a group of police officers while flying a protest flag.

The charges laid against him pertain to terrorism and inciting secession, offenses which carry the maximum penalty of life in prison.

Article 46 of the national security law lists three instances where a trial can be conducted without a jury: to protect state secrets, to protect the personal safety of jurors and their families, and where foreign forces are involved.

Tong’s legal team is considering its next step, though the source told AFP that the only possible way to reverse the decision was by judicial review.

Spokespeople from the Department of Justice and the judiciary declined to comment.

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