Exclusive | Hong Kong justice minister says there are no grounds to bar foreign judges from ruling on national security cases, but a special court could help

Teresa Cheng says it would be ‘strange’ to prevent a foreign judge from sitting on such cases

If a special court is set up, judicial independence must be preserved, she adds

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Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng says she sees no ground why a foreign judge would be barred from ruling on a case of national security. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 12:42am, 2 Jun 2020Updated: 10:48am, 5 Jun 2020

Hong Kong’s justice minister says there are no grounds to bar foreign judges from ruling on national security cases, but the city could benefit from setting up a special court to try people over seditious crimes.

The suggestion to make judges recuse themselves based on their nationality was “strange”, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah said, as it deviated from the former British colony’s long-established norm, now preserved by its mini-constitution, the Basic Law.

But she urged people not to jump to a conclusion too quickly about the possibility of a special court.

Cheng said having a special court could help the judiciary navigate uncharted territory, but such a court should preserve its independence and transparency.

In an interview with the Post, Cheng weighed in on the two suggestions floated by Hong Kong’s pro-establishment figures when they joined officials in Beijing last week to pass a motion to enact the national security law to “prevent, stop and punish” acts and activities amounting to secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in the city.

The Basic Law in Hong Kong requires Chinese nationality for only two judicial posts – the chief justice and the chief judge of the High Court. Photo: Sam Tsang

The move sparked concerns over the city’s freedoms and human rights, and raised questions as to how mainland Chinese law could be adopted in its common law jurisdiction.

Article 23 of the Basic Law requires the Hong Kong government to enact its own national security law, but that article has been in abeyance since 1997.

Exclusive | Hong Kong justice minister says there are no grounds to bar foreign judges from ruling on national security cases, but a special court could help

Teresa Cheng says it would be ‘strange’ to prevent a foreign judge from sitting on such cases If a special court is set up, judicial independence must be preserved, she adds

Teresa Cheng says it would be ‘strange’ to prevent a foreign judge from sitting on such cases

If a special court is set up, judicial independence must be preserved, she adds