The story goes on under the ad In a harsh response, the Hong Kong government said the national security law was typical of any country seeking to defend itself, and described the British move as “disgusting”. “We are making a big exception to the absurd and misleading allegations against the NSL and our legal system. “Every country around the world would take threats to its national security extremely seriously,” the statement said. Two British judges were serving in the Final Court of Appeal, Hong Kong’s highest court, before both resigned on Wednesday, in parallel with the announcement by the British government. The Final Court of Appeal consists of permanent judges and other non-permanent judges who may come from any jurisdiction of common law. Hong Kong, a former British colony, inherited the system of common law, which it maintained even after its 1997 surrender to China as “one country, two systems”. The story goes on under the ad Under this framework and the Hong Kong mini-constitution, the courts are destined to be independent of the political influence and mainland China, which has supported Hong Kong’s appeal to foreign companies. Hong Kong, under the “one country, two systems” framework, had one of the most respected courts and judicial systems in Asia, which was considered free from interference, in contrast to the mainland judicial system. Hong Kong is an arbitration center and home to many of the world’s leading law firms and legal talents. The withdrawal of the two British judges “is a vote of no confidence in the entire political and legal environment following the National Security Act,” said Eric Yan-ho Lai, a Hong Kong legal associate at the Center for Asian Law at Georgetown University. “Business groups would also view the move as an indicator of the integrity of the Hong Kong legal system now.” The story goes on under the ad Common jurisdictions include Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and judges from all of these countries have served on the Final Court of Appeal as non-permanent judges. An Australian judge resigned from the Supreme Court in September 2020, citing the content of the National Security Act. A handful of Australian and Canadian judges are now the only foreign judges left after Wednesday’s resignations. A Canadian judge, former Supreme Court Justice of Canada Beverly McLachlin, defended her decision to remain in her position in an interview with Canada’s National Post in August, calling the court “perhaps the last bastion of intact democracy” in Hong Kong. Lord Robert Reed, who is also the President of the British Supreme Court, said in a statement announcing his resignation on Wednesday that Supreme Court judges “could not continue to sit in Hong Kong without appearing to support an administration that has moved away from values of political freedom and freedom of expression “. The story goes on under the ad Hong Kong was rocked by anti-government protests in 2019, sparked by fears that the legal firewall between mainland and mainland China would be eroded by a bill that would allow extradition between the two countries. It became a complete rebuke to China and the Hong Kong government. In 2020, China bypassed Hong Kong’s legislature and passed a sweeping national security law that has since criminalized dissent and silenced and imprisoned the opposition. The legal system has been a crucial part of this process, and judges must now apply China’s national security law, which, among other things, denies bail to political suspects even before they are found guilty. . All of Hong Kong’s most prominent activists, including media mogul Jimmy Lai, young protest leader Joshua Wong and others, are in custody. Jimmy Lai has refused bail from the Final Court of Appeals, and this bail applies to many other political activists and former lawmakers in custody. Many of Hong Kong’s key pro-democracy leaders – lawyers, LGBTQ activists, social workers and students – have been in custody for more than a year as their national security law trial is delayed. The story goes on under the ad Britain’s decision comes after months of pressure from British lawmakers and activists who argued after the passage of the National Security Act that foreign judges have no place in court. They argued that these judges could not act as a mitigating force but legitimized political repression there. Judges overseeing national security cases are manually selected and can be replaced after a term of one year. “For a very long time, British judges have served as a showcase for the Chinese government’s brutal crackdown on all forms of political opposition in Hong Kong,” said Afzal Khan, a member of the British Parliament and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance for China. “This announcement is welcome and has been delayed a long time.” correction An earlier version of the article had the misspelling of Afzal Khan’s name, it has been corrected.
