Opinion | The US bill attacking Hong Kong’s rule of law will not succeed
- Although the judiciary has sometimes faced criticism over its handling of national security and protest-related cases, this is misplaced
- A US bill targeting 49 Hong Kong judges, prosecutors and officials is a dirty attack on the rule of law by people who should know better
Since 1997, Hong Kong’s success has been underpinned by its legal system. Whereas independent prosecutors decide if there is a reasonable prospect of conviction, impartial judges preside at trials. The Basic Law guarantees the independence of judges (Article 85), and the judicial oath requires them to determine cases “without fear or favour, self-interest or deceit”.
Although the judiciary has sometimes faced criticism over its handling of national security and protest-related cases, this is invariably misplaced. Suspects are only convicted if their guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt, and defendants can challenge their convictions on appeal.
The Guardian called its ruling “the latest in a string of defeats for the Hong Kong government in cases related to the pro-democracy movement”.
The judiciary, which has 11 eminent overseas jurists from Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom sitting as non-permanent judges on the Court of Final Appeal, has ensured the rule of law has thrived since 1997, and it is rightly regarded as one of the most professional in the Asia-Pacific region.
In October, when the World Justice Project (WJP) released its Rule of Law Index for 2023, it came as no surprise that Hong Kong was ranked 23rd out of the 142 jurisdictions surveyed. The WJP emerged from the American Bar Association in 2006, and became an independent, non-profit organisation in 2009. It is now the world’s leading source of independent, original data on the rule of law, and its assessments are valued by governments, businesses and civil society.
