The attorney for the first defendant, Tang Ying-kit, who is suspected of violating the National Security Law, is dissatisfied with the Department of Justice’s refusal to allow his case to be tried by a jury, and has filed a judicial review. The prosecution denied that a jury trial is a constitutional right of Hong Kong people, and that the National Security Law does not require that a reason be given for striking a jury trial. After hearing the arguments of both sides, the judge said it would take time to consider the arguments of both sides and postponed his ruling until next week.
Article 86 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, provides that “the principle of the jury system previously practiced in Hong Kong shall be maintained. The case will be heard by three High Court judges without a jury, and Tang has filed a judicial review.
In his speech in court yesterday (10), senior barrister Dai Qisi, representing the defendant, pointed out that the trial of a High Court case by a jury of the public is a constitutional right guaranteed by the Basic Law, and the Secretary for Justice, without prior notice and explanation, cut out the jury trial of the case, depriving the defendant of the opportunity to respond and violating procedural justice. He stressed that the jury system, which has been in place in Hong Kong for more than a century, ensures a fair trial and is more in line with the public’s perception of justice, and provides a degree of protection for the defendant. He made it clear that Tang wanted to leave his fate in the hands of the jury, not the judge. He also said that
Sun Jinggan, a senior barrister representing the Department of Justice, denied that jury trial is a fundamental constitutional right of Hong Kong people, and that the Basic Law’s reference to “preserving” the jury system does not mean that the system remains unchanged; and that Article 63 of the Basic Law even provides that the Department of Justice shall not be subject to any interference in the conduct of criminal prosecutions, including the decision to strike out a jury. In addition, Article 46 of the National Security Law empowers the Attorney General to issue a certificate directing that a trial be conducted without a jury, and the prosecution is not obligated to provide reasons for its prosecution decisions.
Tang was charged with inciting others to secede from the state and with terrorist activities, the first case since the implementation of the National Security Law. The charges allege that he incited others to organize, plan, commit or participate in the commission of acts aimed at secession or undermining national unity during a march in Wan Chai the day after the National Security Law came into effect last year; and that his actions, which left three police officers seriously injured, were alleged to be terrorist activities intended to coerce the central government or the Hong Kong government, or to intimidate the public, in an attempt to achieve a political proposition that caused or was intended to cause serious social harm.
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