Court rules police watchdog has powers to study protests

The High Court today ruled that the police watchdog is not acting beyond its powers by arrying out a study on the months-long anti-government protests, RTHK reports.
Justice Keith Yeung dismissed a judicial review lodged by social worker and activist Hendrick Lui Chi-hang against the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC).
He had argued that the IPCC had overstepped its power in conducting the fact-finding study, because it should only review investigation reports submitted by the Complaints Against Police Office (Capo).
But Yeung said the study is not meant to be an investigation into any individual complaint. He also noted that the protests are unprecedented and the number of complaints against police officers has been climbing.
The judge said the time to handle the complaints is tight, and reconstructing an overall picture of the events can help the IPCC to review the reports effectively and in the proper context when they are submitted by Capo.
Yeung also said there's no basis to confine the role of the IPCC to a narrow and passive one when discharging its statutory role and functions.
The IPCC ordinance has given powers to the council to “do all such things that are reasonably necessary for, or incidental or conducive to, the performance of its functions”, the judge said.
He said the council is using its power to carry out the study in anticipation of the large number of reports expected to be received from Capo.
“An overall or broad picture is sought to be reconstructed, which is intended to be used to assist the facilitate the consideration of investigation reports when received, so that they could be reviewed effectively and in the proper context, so that appropriate questions could be asked,” he writes.

He says, therefore, the use of the powers by the council to carry out the study is “purposively and contextually related to its functions” under the law.
In January, the IPCC withheld an interim report covering six major protest events between June 9 and August 31 last year because of the legal challenge.
The government has long argued that the IPCC's report is a better way to review alleged police brutality, rather than setting up an independent commission of inquiry as demanded by protesters and many legal scholars.