The Hong Kong SAR government on Friday gazetted a rule amendment to ensure that the freeze notice of property related to offenses under the National Security Law for Hong Kong (NSL) remains valid until the conclusion of legal proceedings.  

The 2023 Implementation Rules for Amending the Implementation Rules for Article 43 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Implementation Rules) took effect on Friday.

The spokesman stressed the necessity for the amendments, saying it can more effectively avoid national security risks arising from improper dealing with offense-related property by the defendants of cases before conclusion of the proceedings 

“The amendments are technical in nature and the scope of the proposed amendments is extremely narrow: they only aim at making clear provisions in respect of the validity period of the freeze notice, without changing the basis or principle for issuing such notice,” a government spokesman said. 

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The Secretary for Security may issue a notice to freeze offense-related property, under Schedule 3 to the Implementation Rules. 

The notice aims at preserving the property so that a confiscation or forfeiture order may be obtained in the future, as well as preventing the property to be used in financing or assisting any offense endangering national security, or preventing dealing with the property in a manner which may prejudice on-going investigation or proceedings.

Under the implementation rules, the notice is valid for two years. Law enforcement officials need to seek the court’s approval in the case of an extension, provided that it can convince the court that the investigation of the offense endangering national security could not reasonably have been completed before the notice expires. 

However, whether the validity period of a freeze notice can be extended before conclusion of the related proceedings, especially proceedings of criminal prosecutions, has not been clearly specified in the implementation rules, the statement read.

The spokesman stressed the necessity for the amendments, saying it can more effectively avoid national security risks arising from improper dealing with offense-related property by the defendants of cases before conclusion of the proceedings. 

“If the related proceedings are not yet concluded, it is only natural that the notices should remain valid in the meantime,” he said.

It also enables the HKSAR government to continue to effectively prevent and suppress acts and activities endangering national security, he said. 

The government spokesman emphasized that the property rights of the suspects and defendants of cases concerning offenses endangering national security remain protected in accordance with the law after the amendment. 

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“Same as the prevailing arrangement, persons affected by the freeze notices may apply to the Court of First Instance for the revocation of the notices or for the grant of a license or variation of a license for dealing with the property under the implementation rules,” the spokesman said.

”The license regime already provides a balance between the prevention and suppression of acts or activities endangering national security and the protection of property rights ,” the government spokesman said.

Article 43 of the National Security Law stipulates various measures that law enforcement authorities in the city may take in handling NSL cases. The implementation rules first took effect on July 7, 2020.