The Supreme Court’s reliance on suo motu cognisance has turned a once ‘rare but highly visible’ jurisdiction into a recurring instrument shaped by primetime attention and media reports; while it keeps ‘ringing’ its own chain through televised listings and supervision, the trial courts below it continue doing the work
The Supreme Court’s May 21 clarification partially revives sedition proceedings under Section 124A for consenting accused persons; the direction creates disparity in the working of Section 124A and leaves accused caught between trial under an undecided law and indefinite limbo
It is very often said that the common law is one of Hong Kong’s greatest assets. It provides us with a corpus of law which shares common origins with those of many established jurisdictions. It enables conversations to take place between our legal professionals and with our counterparts elsewhere. As the only common law jurisdiction with both Chinese and English as official languages used in court, Hong Kong is the connection between China and the common law world. But what exactly is the Hong...
Justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan close a writ petition after recording the submission