Recently, when judges handled a number of anti-amendment cases, the verdict attracted great controversy. Some judges were questioned for their political stance and were labeled as “yellow judges”, which even led to the query of “police pulling people, judges letting them go”. Some legal professionals say that if a judge’s ruling is repeatedly challenged, the handling of similar cases should be suspended, and the Hong Kong government should carefully select the designated judges to handle the “Hong Kong National Security Law”, and in the long run, there is a need for judicial reform.
Barrister Kung pointed out that if the judge is challenged by the outside world to violate the principle of neutrality, should stop hearing the relevant cases, otherwise it will affect the public’s confidence in the rule of law in Hong Kong. Earlier, a judge ruled that the failure of police officers to display markers to identify individual officers, such as police numbers, while on duty was a violation of the Bill of Rights, and the case has caused a great deal of public outcry. Kung queried the judge’s thinking or slightly off the ground, because police uniforms are easily identified if the number is printed, and how to protect Hong Kong if the safety of police officers themselves are not protected?
Some members of the legal profession pointed out that some judges have long lived in a small circle of high-income class, Hong Kong society and the general public face many practical problems, the lack of profound understanding, as if living in the ivory tower. The commentary suggests that judges should not only respect the law, but also have a deep understanding of its impact on social development, order, and the balance between the overall interests of the district and the interests of the individual, which is a trait that some judges lack. Some judges have even been questioned about their association with members of the opposition judiciary.
Recently, there have been calls for judicial reform in Hong Kong, and some groups have petitioned the High Court several times. The Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, Mr. Geoffrey Ma, has said that the judiciary should remain independent and not be influenced by external factors or political stances. The government has also said that the judicial reform does not affect the independence of the judiciary, and that there should be a separation of powers between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.
The founding president of the Hong Kong Association of Small and Medium-sized Law Firms, Chan Man-kee, also agreed to carry out judicial reform, pointing out that at this stage, if the judiciary receives complaints about the personal conduct of judges, their superiors will handle the complaints and investigations, but Chan believes that it is “their own people investigating their own people”. Chen suggested the establishment of an independent body to monitor the judiciary and the establishment of a sentencing commission to monitor the personal conduct of judges and to avoid the dominance of judges.
In addition, according to Article 44 of the National Security Law of Hong Kong, a person who has spoken or acted against national security shall not be appointed as a judge to hear cases of crimes against national security; and if a person has spoken or acted against national security during his or her appointment as a designated judge, he or she shall be terminated as a designated judge. According to her understanding, the appointed judges should uphold, promote and believe in the Constitution and the Basic Law. She said the criteria for appointing designated judges should be very high, and if a judge’s words or actions raise suspicions or inferences that violate these principles, he or she should also be terminated as a designated judge.
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