Hong Kong’s Department of Justice (DoJ) has lost an appeal against the High Court’s decision to let a UK barrister represent media tycoon Jimmy Lai in his upcoming high-profile national security trial.
In a written judgement released on Wednesday, a three-judge High Court panel made up of Susan Kwan, Carlye Chu and Thomas Au backed an earlier ruling that there was a “clear case” for allowing King’s Counsel Timothy Owen to represent Lai. The judgement said the case would attract “substantial publicity locally and abroad,” and that “public perception of fairness in the trial is of vital importance to the administration of justice.”
King’s Counsels are the British equivalent of senior counsels in Hong Kong and require permission to be allowed to represent clients in the city’s courts.
The court’s ruling is the latest development in a saga of twists and turns involving plans to hire Owen for Lai’s case. In September, the justice secretary and the Hong Kong Bar Association opposed Owen’s application. The High Court then allowed the hiring, calling it “clearly in the public interest.”
Following that, the government appealed against the decision on the grounds that Owen did not have the expertise or experience related to the national security law.
According to Wednesday’s written judgement, Owen is a specialist in criminal, public and human rights law. He has appeared before Hong Kong’s courts as well as courts in other jurisdictions.
