Hong Kong national security judges explained

In Hong Kong, designated national security law judges are incumbent magistrates or judges who are further appointed by the Chief Executive to handle national security offence cases at various levels of the court system.[1] Judges without the designation by the Chief Executive are not allowed to handle these cases.

Designation

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China enacted the Hong Kong national security law on 30 June 2020. Paragraph 3 of Article 44 of the law requires national security offence cases to be handle by "designated judges".

According to the law, the Chief Executive should designate judges from incumbent magistrates and judges from each level of the court system to handle national security offence cases. Prior to granting the designation, the Chief Executive may consult the Chief Justice and the Committee for Safeguarding National Security. The tenure of office as a designated judge is one year.

Moreover, the Chief Executive is required by the law to not grant the designation to those who have "made any statement or behaved in any manner endangering national security". And the designation can be withdrawn if a designated judge makes any statement or acts in any way that is considered endangering national security.

List of known judges

The complete list of designated judges is not made available to the public as the government believes such revelation poses security threats to the designated judges.[2] However when individual national security cases go through various legal proceedings in open court, the press and the public find out who the presiding designated judges are. Yet, those judges who have been designated but have not yet presided in open court on any national security case are not known to the public. The exact dates of the start and the end of the designation are also unknown to the public.

Here is a table of publicly known current and former designated judges and magistrates:

!No.!Judges!Corresponding Courts!Notes
1Andrew CheungCourt of Final AppealChief Justice
2Roberto RibeiroCourt of Final Appeal
3Joseph Fok[3] Court of Final Appeal
4Patrick ChanCourt of Final AppealNon-permanent Judge
5Frank StockCourt of Final AppealNon-permanent Judge
6Johnson Lam[4] Court of Appeal; Court of Final Appeal
7Jeremy PoonCourt of AppealChief Judge
8Susan Kwan Shuk-hing[5] Court of AppealVice President
9Carlye Chu Fun-lingCourt of AppealVice President
10Derek Pang[6] Court of Appeal
11Anthea Pang Po-kamCourt of First Instance; Court of Appeal
12Anderson Chow Ka-ming[7] Court of First Instance; Court of Appeal
13Esther Toh Lye-ping[8] Court of First Instance
14Wilson Chan Ka-shunCourt of First Instance
15Susana Maria D'Almada Remedios[9] Court of First Instance
16Alex Lee Wan-tangCourt of First Instance
17Andrew Chan Hing-wai[10] Court of First Instance
18Johnny Chan Jong-herngCourt of First Instance
19Anna Lai Yuen-kee[11] [12] Court of First Instance
20Stanley Chan Kwong-chi[13] District Court
21Amanda Jane Woodcock[14] District Court
22Kwok Wai-kin[15] District Court
23Adriana Noelle Tse ChingDistrict Court
24Ernest Lin Kam-hungDistrict Court
25Amy Chan Wai-mun[16] District Court
26Ada Yim Shun-yeeDistrict Court
27Victor So Wai-tak[17] Magistrates' CourtChief Magistrate
28Don So Man-lung[18] Magistrates' CourtPrincipal Magistrate (Eastern)
29Ivy Chui Yee-meiMagistrates' CourtPrincipal Magistrate (West Kowloon)
30Veronica Heung Shuk-han[19] Magistrates' Court
31Andy Cheng Lim-chiMagistrates' Court

Retired judges

JudgesCorresponding CourtsRetiredNotes
Geoffrey Ma[20] Court of Final AppealJanuary 2021Chief Justice
Wally YeungCourt of AppealAugust 2021Vice-President
Joseph To Ho-shingMagistrates' CourtApril 2022
Peter Law Tak-chuenMagistrates' CourtOctober 2023

Congressional-Executive Commission on China

In May 2023, the CECC called on the US government to sanction 29 Hong Kong national security judges known to be involved in cases.[21] Hong Kong Bar Association chairman Victor Dawes said that any US sanctions against local judges could pose a "real threat" to the ability of the city to hire top-talent judges to combat a manpower shortage.[22]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
  2. Web site: Center for Asian Law. Hong Kong's National Security Law and the Right to a Fair Trial. June 28, 2021 . Lydia . Wong . Thomas E. . Kellog . Eric . Yan-ho Lai . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211017183938/https://www.law.georgetown.edu/law-asia/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2021/06/HongKongNSLRightToFairTrial.pdf. 17 October 2021. Georgetown University Law Center. 10. ...the Hong Kong government has refused to make the list of designated judges public, claiming that doing so could create security risks judges who have been so named..
  3. News: 28 January 2021. Hong Kong leader appoints 3 more national security judges for appeal against media mogul Jimmy Lai's bail. Hong Kong Free Press. The appeal will be heard by five judges, Chief Justice Andrew Cheung, Judges Roberto Ribeiro, Joseph Fok, Patrick Chan, and Frank Stock. . Candice Chau . live . https://archive.today/20211026083229/https://hongkongfp.com/2021/01/28/hong-kong-leader-appoints-3-more-national-security-judges-for-appeal-against-media-mogul-jimmy-lais-bail/ . 26 Oct 2021 .
  4. News: 22 June 2021. HK court upholds decision for no jury at first national security trial. Reuters. Sharon . Abratique . https://web.archive.org/web/20210910191016/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hk-court-upholds-decision-no-jury-first-national-security-trial-2021-06-22/. 10 September 2021. " Although jury trial is the conventional mode of trial in the Court of First Instance, it should not be assumed to be the only means of achieving fairness in the criminal process," according to a summary of the decision by judges Jeremy Poon, Wally Yeung and Johnson Lam..
  5. Web site: One City, Two Legal Systems: Hong Kong Judges' Role in Rights Violations Under the National Security Law . 2023-05-15 . Practice Source . May 10, 2023 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230515132806/https://practicesource.com/one-city-two-legal-systems-hong-kong-judges-role-in-rights-violations-under-the-national-security-law/ . 2023-05-15 .
  6. News: 23 November 2021. 唐英傑案換法援「官派律師」 新代表律師合夥人曾是政協 劉偉聰被剔出案件. zh. Hong Kong Citizen News (眾新聞). 案件本周五早上9時半將在高等法院上訴庭進行指示聆訊，司法機構網頁一度標記「HC Judge 1」，到傍晚揭曉是上訴庭法官彭偉昌。. 27 November 2021. 27 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211127101123/https://www.hkcnews.com/article/48028/%E5%94%90%E8%8B%B1%E5%82%91-%E5%8A%89%E5%81%89%E8%81%B0-%E6%B3%95%E5%BE%8B%E6%8F%B4%E5%8A%A9%E7%BD%B2-48029/%E5%94%90%E8%8B%B1%E5%82%91%E6%A1%88%E6%8F%9B%E6%B3%95%E6%8F%B4%E3%80%8C%E5%AE%98%E6%B4%BE%E5%BE%8B%E5%B8%AB%E3%80%8D-%E6%96%B0%E4%BB%A3%E8%A1%A8%E5%BE%8B%E5%B8%AB%E5%90%88%E5%A4%A5%E4%BA%BA%E6%9B%BE%E6%98%AF%E6%94%BF%E5%8D%94-%E5%8A%89%E5%81%89%E8%81%B0%E8%A2%AB%E5%89%94%E5%87%BA%E6%A1%88%E4%BB%B6. dead.
  7. Web site: 2020-08-21 . Hong Kong court rejects challenge to national security law's new bail rules . 2022-09-29 . South China Morning Post .
  8. News: 20 July 2021. Landmark Hong Kong security trial wraps up in test for rule of law. Reuters. https://web.archive.org/web/20211027143235/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hong-kongs-first-trial-under-national-security-hears-closing-arguments-2021-07-20/. 27 October 2021. The verdict will be delivered on July 27 by a panel of three judges; Esther Toh, Anthea Pang and Wilson Chan - who were picked by Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader to hear national security cases..
  9. Web site: Leung . Hillary . 2022-08-17 . National security trial for Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai to proceed without jury - reports . 2022-09-29 . Hong Kong Free Press.
  10. Web site: Standard . The . Three activists who pleaded guilty in security case want sentencing before co-defendants' trial . 2022-09-05 . 2022-09-29 . The Standard .
  11. Web site: Hong Kong court denies ex-Tiananmen vigil activist Chow Hang-tung’s bid to remove judge from national security trial. James. Lee. Hong Kong Free Press. 5 July 2024. 5 July 2024.
  12. Web site: 14 February 2024 . 支聯會被指煽動顛覆案　2.19案件管理聆訊　由法官李運騰、陳仲衡、黎婉姬審理 . The Witness.
  13. Web site: National security judge assigned to Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Tam Tak-chi's sedition case. Kelly. Ho. Hong Kong Free Press. 2020-12-03. 2022-11-18.
  14. News: 15 September 2021. 香港六四集會案：第二批被告人判刑 何俊仁等民主派元老監禁4至10個月. zh. BBC. https://web.archive.org/web/20210916023345/https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/chinese-news-58557211. 16 September 2021. 案件並非根據《香港國安法》起訴，但主審法官胡雅文是行政長官林鄭月娥根據該法選任的「國安法指定法官」。.
  15. News: 28 October 2021. 23歲理大男生擬認煽動他人分裂國家 涉「宣揚恐怖主義」4港大生需時申法援明年再訊. zh. Hong Kong Citizen News. https://web.archive.org/web/20211028193505/https://www.hkcnews.com/article/47002/%E7%85%BD%E5%8B%95%E5%88%86%E8%A3%82%E5%9C%8B%E5%AE%B6-%E6%B8%AF%E5%A4%A7%E5%AD%B8%E7%94%9F%E6%9C%83%E8%A9%95%E8%AD%B0%E6%9C%83-%E5%AE%A3%E6%8F%9A%E6%81%90%E6%80%96%E4%B8%BB%E7%BE%A9-47002/%E7%85%BD%E5%8B%95%E5%88%86%E8%A3%82%E5%9C%8B%E5%AE%B6. 28 October 2021. 理工大學男學生呂世瑜涉利用住所作武器庫，收藏胡椒球彈及手槍等物品，被指違反國安法。案件今（28日）在區域法院提堂，辯方透露呂擬承認煽動他人分裂國家罪，其餘的無牌管有槍械罪及管有攻擊性武器罪，則獲控方不提證供起訴。法官郭偉健押後案件至明年2月25日答辯，被告期間繼續還柙。.
  16. Web site: 2023-11-02 . Rep. Young Kim, Colleagues Lead Hong Kong Sanctions Act Representative Young Kim . 2023-11-07 . youngkim.house.gov . en.
  17. News: 5 October 2021. National security judge Victor So is on sick leave: Judiciary. The Standard (Hong Kong). https://web.archive.org/web/20211005221206/https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/181170/National-security-judge-Victor-So-is-on-sick-leave:-Judiciary. 5 October 2021. All his works would be handled by magistrate Peter Law Tak-Chuen temporarily..
  18. Web site: 2021-09-29 . Bail denied for Hong Kong schoolgirl and 6 others charged with subversion . 2022-09-29 . South China Morning Post . en.
  19. Web site: Chau . Candice . 2023-02-27 . Ex-Hong Kong police officer convicted of sedition over comments over death of marine officer . 2023-03-05 . Hong Kong Free Press HKFP . en-GB.
  20. News: 2 January 2021 . 大公文彙盛讚馬道立等三法官收押黎智英乃"眾望所歸" . zh . . https://web.archive.org/web/20210103235421/https://www.rfi.fr/tw/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B/20210102-%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%AC%E6%96%87%E5%BD%99%E7%9B%9B%E8%AE%9A%E9%A6%AC%E9%81%93%E7%AB%8B%E7%AD%89%E4%B8%89%E6%B3%95%E5%AE%98%E6%94%B6%E6%8A%BC%E9%BB%8E%E6%99%BA%E8%8B%B1%E4%B9%83-%E7%9C%BE%E6%9C%9B%E6%89%80%E6%AD%B8 . 3 January 2021 . 中共在港喉舌大公和文彙兩報對終審法院日前裁定再度收押涉嫌觸犯香港國安法的黎智英，是"正確決定，眾望所歸"，又對終院首席法官馬道立、常任法官張舉能和李義三人盛讚一番，形容裁決是"撥亂反正"的第一步。.
  21. Web site: One City, Two Legal Systems: Hong Kong Judges' Role in Rights Violations under the National Security Law Congressional-Executive Commission on China . 2023-05-15 . www.cecc.gov.
  22. Web site: Hong Kong Bar Association chief warns any US sanctions on judges pose 'real threat' to judiciary’s hunt for top talent. Willa. Wu. South China Morning Post. 2023-09-11. 2024-04-14. subscription. https://web.archive.org/web/20231215031729/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3234160/hong-kong-bar-association-chief-warns-possible-us-sanctions-judges-pose-real-threat-judiciarys-hunt. 2023-12-15. live.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hong Kong national security judges".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.