Hong Kong appeal judges reject government bid to take arguments against British counsel for trial of media tycoon Jimmy Lai to highest court
- Appeal judges reject Department of Justice argument that use of Owen ‘incompatible’ with aims of Beijing-imposed national security law
- Court of Appeal insists that London barrister Timothy Owen can represent Lai in national security trial
Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal on Monday defended an earlier ruling that allowed a top British lawyer to defend media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying in a national security trial expected to start next Thursday.
The panel of three judges rejected a bid by the Department of Justice to take its objection to the use of London-based King’s Counsel Timothy Owen on Lai’s defence team to the city’s highest court, the Court of Final Appeal.
The Court of Appeal judgment said Owen’s admission to fight the case would not damage the obligation to safeguard national security.
It added it was also important to consider a variety of public interest aspects of the case.
The Court of Appeal highlighted that the Department of Justice had quoted a British legal scholar on national security as part of its arguments.
The judges wrote: “This goes to demonstrate that overseas learning and the contribution of overseas counsel in this new area of the law in Hong Kong should have a role to play in the development of our own jurisprudence on national security.”
