HK’s top judge dismisses concerns about rule of law

HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s chief justice on Monday defended the handpicking of judges to hear controversial national security cases, dismissing "unsubstantiated" concerns about the rule of law in the Chinese finance hub.

Semi-autonomous Hong Kong owes much of its success to a transparent and internationally respected common law legal system, which stands in stark contrast to opaque, Communist Party-controlled courts in mainland China.

But the system has come under sustained pressure since massive democracy protests in 2019, with Beijing enacting a contentious national security law to quash dissent that critics say is incompatible with Hong Kong’s legal traditions.

During the ceremonial opening of the 2022 legal year on Monday, top judge Andrew Cheung said justices presiding over national security cases were impartial and the heightened scrutiny of Hong Kong’s rule of law was unwarranted.