Hong Kong’s highest court sets new test for bail under the National Security Law
In the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal’s judgment dated 9 February 2021, HKSAR v Lai Chee Ying [2021] HKCFA 3, an appeal against an order of bail that had...
Hong Kong: Anti-Mask Law Held Constitutional (but please wear a mask for COVID-19)
The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (“HKCFA”) recently held that the Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation(“PFCR”) was constitutional. The PFCR was introduced by the Chief Executive in Council on...
Constitutional Rights of Indigenous People in Hong Kong
In Kwok Cheuk Kin v Director of Lands [2019] HKCFI 867, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance ruled that Private Treaty Grants and Land Exchanges under the Small House...
Should All Male Prisoners be Required to Have Their Hair Cut?
In the judgment handed down by the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (‘CFA’) on 27 November 2020 (Leung Kwok Hung v Commissioner of Correctional Services [2020] HKCFA 37), it...
The Redundancy of Opposition: Patriots Only in Hong Kong’s “Legislature”
On 11 November 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) decided to disqualify four members of the emergency sixth-term Hong Kong Legislative Council (the “Decision”), as they...
Taking Free Speech Seriously: The Right to Advocate Secession in Hong Kong
Tony Chung, an advocate of Hong Kong independence, has been charged with secession and conspiring to publish seditious content under the NSL, and consequently denied bail. This blog post compares...
A Review of the Credibility Assessment in Hong Kong’s Torture Claim Regime
Since 2014, Hong Kong has conducted its asylum process through the Unified Screening Mechanism. The process begins with an individual signifying to an Immigration Officer (“Officer”) his intention to seek...
The Voice of Hong Kong in Exile (with Nathan Law)
During the Umbrella Movement in 2014, Nathan Law was one of the five representatives who took part in the dialogue with the Government debating political reform. Upholding non-violent civic actions,...
A Bittersweet Day: Two equality rights decisions handed down by the High Court of Hong Kong
In recent years, the Hong Kong courts have recognised the equality rights of various same-sex couples in a number of cases. On 18 September 2020, the Hong Kong High Court...
Upsetting the ‘apple’ cart: the latest onslaught on press freedom in Hong Kong
The press is always the first casualty of a new despotism. On 10 August 2020, Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, was arrested in Hong Kong –...
National Security and Constitutional Rights: Recent Developments in Hong Kong
The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the “Law”) aims to safeguard national security by criminalising activities capable...
All Eyes on Hong Kong: China’s New Security Law and Rising Rights Concerns
China is all set to impose a new National Security Legislation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) which will “prevent, stop and punish acts and activities endangering national...