Ex-judge Henry Litton says radical judicial reforms needed to uphold 'One Country, Two Systems'

Radical changes at all levels, no less than in the judiciary is needed in Hong Kong to support the One Country Two Systems policy, the foundation for Hong Kong’s success as a global financial center, the former Court of Final Appeal judge Henry Litton says.

“There is no reason why such policy should not go beyond 2047 if it harmonizes with the broader national interests. Hence it is very much in the interests of young lawyers to truly support that policy, to work towards the success of that policy: they will be at the high noon of their professional lives in 2047. And the duty of the older lawyers, the leaders of their profession, is to cultivate a climate conducive to their juniors’ success,'' he says.

“But is this what they are doing in fact?”

Clearly radical changes at all levels are called for, no less than in the judiciary, Litton argues

“The starting point is surely to internalize this key concept: that Hong Kong is a mere region of China. A small dot on the map of China. 7.4 million people in a population of 1.4 billion. Nothing more. To make it more, greater, more influential in the world, it requires nurturing in an authentic way.''

The words of the vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, Wang Chen, to “improve the legal system and enforcement mechanism of the HKSAR,” must surely sound as a wake-up call for the legal profession and the judiciary, Litton argues.

The explanatory document contains a warning which the legal profession and the judiciary in Hong Kong should heed: “efforts must be made at the state-level to establish and improve the legal system and enforcement mechanism of the HKSAR.’’

Litton says that at the regional level – Hong Kong’s level – enforcement mechanism has, for all the world to see, also broken down.

He says the Hong Kong legislature has been dysfunctional sicnce October and what this means is no law can be passed in Hong Kong. “Except for matters of finance, it has ceased to operate as a legislature.''