John Lee’s appeal for further Beijing control confirms the National Security Law has compromised Hong Kong’s legal system

Today, the Hong Kong Chief Executive, John Lee, has announced that he will request that the Chinese Government in Beijing interpret the National Security Law to bar the admission of overseas legal counsels from representing defendants in national security cases in Hong Kong.

This announcement follows a ruling by the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal dismissing the Department for Justice’s application to block the admission of a British counsel, Tim Owen KC, to represent Jimmy Lai in an upcoming national security trial.

John Lee’s announcement comes at a time where there is heightened debate regarding the sitting of foreign retired judges on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.

Commenting on the announcement, Sam Goodman, Director of Policy and Advocacy for Hong Kong Watch, said:

“John Lee’s announcement today is an attempt to deprive defendants of the right to a counsel of their choosing and a further indication that Jimmy Lai’s trial is little more than a political show trial removed from any adherence to the rule of law.

It is a sad confirmation that the remaining foreign judges sitting on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal will be little more than window dressing to justify the ongoing human rights crackdown. It is well past time they considered their position.

This appeal for further Beijing control confirms what many of us have long known – that the National Security Law has fundamentally compromised the integrity of the Hong Kong legal system.

It is time for the global legal community and judges to accept that “Common law with CCP characteristics” is incompatible with the rule of law.”