There you go we’ve been told… therefore they must be impartial!
In a speech for the opening of the 2022 legal year on Monday, Chief Justice Andrew Cheung said the impartiality of the city’s designated national security judges was not to be questioned.
In a speech for the opening of the 2022 legal year on Monday, Chief Justice Andrew Cheung said the impartiality of the city’s designated national security judges was not to be questioned, after the requirement under the national security law had “given rise to comments” casting doubt over their independence.
“It is conducive to public confidence in our judicial system to assure the community that, from the Judiciary’s perspective, there is no question of the impartiality of our courts being affected by this special arrangement under Article 44,” he said.
National security judges are serving judges who already “satisfied high requirement[s]” of judicial and professional qualities under the Basic Law. They are chosen by the chief executive, who may consult with the chief justice while making the designation, he said.
Cheung also defended the possibility that national security trials can take place without a jury, overseen only by three designated Court of Frist Instance judges. “Their verdict is given in a fully reasoned judgment which is published online for public scrutiny,” he said. “Moreover, the same procedural safeguards are in place to ensure a fair trial as in a jury trial, and the same appeal procedure is available to a defendant in case of a conviction.”
Although he said the judiciary welcomed local and overseas “attention and comments,” there had been “attempts to intimidate or otherwise exert improper pressure on judges” involved in trying cases related to the 2019 protests and unrest or national security cases.
“These attempts are a direct affront to the rule of law and judicial independence,” he said, adding that they were “futile.” although courthouses have stepped up security in response.
Chief Justice Andrew Cheung’s speech at Ceremonial Opening of Legal Year 2022 (click to view.)
A review of the mechanism to review complaints against judges’ conduct was completed last year. In the new system now in place, complaints will now be handled in a two-tier system, with results publicly announced. The new mechanism “will further enhance the transparency and accountability of our system, as well as public confidence in the Judiciary” without undermining judicial independence, Cheung said.
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