National security must be constantly refined to address evolving challenges, veteran legal scholar Grenville Cross said on Wednesday, highlighting the importance of persistent reviews and improvements to safeguard the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s prosperity and uphold the integrity of the “one country, two systems” principle.

Speaking at the National Security Law Legal Forum 2026, Cross, a former director of public prosecutions in the SAR, said the city has restored stability and public confidence with the implementation of the Hong Kong SAR National Security Law in 2020 and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance in 2025.

“The effectiveness of these laws depends on continued progress, and they must be kept under constructive review in the best interests of the ‘one country, two systems’ policy,” Cross said at the forum held on National Security Education Day.

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Cross noted that a recent white paper released by the State Council Information Office highlights how common law jurisdictions continuously improve their legal systems in response to rapidly changing national security landscapes.

“While Hong Kong’s national security laws have restored stability and prosperity, their ongoing development is vital to the long-term success of ‘one country, two systems’,” said Cross, who was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1974 and now serves as an honorary professor of law at the University of Hong Kong.

The British barrister, who is also a criminal justice analyst and life senator of the International Association of Prosecutors, pointed out that Hong Kong’s approach to national security legislation distinguishes the city from other common law jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and Australia, with its “robust human rights safeguards under the Basic Law and relevant international covenants.”

“It is no exaggeration to say that the HKSAR’s national security laws are human-rights heavy,” Cross remarked, referring to Article 4 of NSL and Article 2 of the Ordinance, which uphold fair trial rights and individual freedoms.

Reflecting on his decades-long involvement in Hong Kong’s judicial development since being appointed as the SAR’s first director of public prosecutions in 1997, Cross reaffirmed the independence of the city’s Judiciary. He cited recent high-profile cases, including those involving Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, as evidence that the courts pursue justice independently and without regard to political sensitivities.

“Let nobody ever underestimate the Judiciary’s unwavering pursuit of just outcomes,” he said.

Cross stressed that while Hong Kong’s legal framework compares favorably with those of other nations, flexibility and adaptability must remain central to its future development.