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Tuesday, January 29, 2019, 00:52
CE: Basic Law guarantees HK's judicial independence
By He Shusi
Tuesday, January 29, 2019, 00:52 By He Shusi

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is presented the 2019 Index of Economic Freedom Report by Heritage Foundation Founder Edwin Feulner at Government House in Hong Kong on Jan 28, 2019. (PHOTO: HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

Hong Kong’s independent judicial authority and the power of final adjudication are protected by the Basic Law, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor stressed on Monday.

The fairness and impartiality of the judiciary in Hong Kong, which is free from any interference, are beyond doubt

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, 

Chief Executive,

Hong Kong

“The fairness and impartiality of the judiciary in Hong Kong, which is free from any interference, are beyond doubt,” Lam said.

She made the remarks during a meeting with Edwin Feulner, founder of the Heritage Foundation, at the Government House in Hong Kong.

The Washington-based foundation again ranked Hong Kong as the world’s freest economy in its recent 2019 Index of Economic Freedom report, but lowered the special administrative region’s rating for “judicial effectiveness” compared with its rating in 2018.

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According to the report, the judiciary in Hong Kong is independent. But it says the fact that the central government reserves the right to make final interpretations of the Basic Law effectively “limits the power” of the city’s Court of Final Appeal.

Lam voiced her disagreement over this point with Feulner. She said the power of interpretation of the Basic Law is vested in the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress — the country’s top legislature.

The co-existence of the NPCSC’s power of interpretation of the Basic Law and the Court of Final Appeal’s power of final adjudication over court cases is one of the unique constitutional arrangements under the “one country, two systems” principle, Lam said.

The feature actually realizes the “one country, two systems” and a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong in the city’s daily governance, she said.

Lam explained that such constitutional order has been implemented since 1997 and ensures the city’s prosperity and stability.

Welcoming Hong Kong’s ranking as the world’s freest economy in 25 consecutive years, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Sunday noted that Hong Kong’s unique “one country, two systems”, the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary are what gives people confidence in doing business in Hong Kong.

This sentiment is shared by many foreign business leaders and officials, Chan noted. “Hence, we must cherish and protect these advantages to maintain Hong Kong’s prosperity and development, and keep the city’s unique and irreplaceable role in the country’s reform and opening-up,” Chan wrote on his blog.

During the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year 2019 on Jan 14, Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal Geoffrey Ma Tao-li stressed that Article 85 of the Basic Law clearly stated that Hong Kong courts “shall exercise judicial power independently, free from any interference”.

Noting that there were some politically controversial cases in Hong Kong last year, Ma reiterated that it was not part of a court’s function or duty to adjudicate on political, social issues or economic ones, or to take sides.

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“Rather, at all times, the court is concerned with dealing with one aspect and one aspect only: a resolution of the legal issues arising in the dispute before it,” Ma explained.

Ma also stressed the independent status of judges. In discharging their constitutional duties, judges are independent from any outside interference; this includes the executive, the legislature or anyone else, he stressed.

heshusi@chinadailyhk.com

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