'Judicial review king' launches new challenge against nomination mechanism in district council election

Veteran Hong Kong litigant Kwok Cheuk-kin filed for a judicial review to challenge the nomination mechanism in the revamped district council system.

This came after the city’s opposition hopefuls and some pro-establishment parties earlier said they had struggled to secure nominations to run.

The district councils were the last major political representative bodies chosen by the public. Under the electoral overhaul, most directly elected seats in the municipal-level organization have been eliminated.

To enter the race, candidates have to secure endorsements from at least nine members of their district’s area committees that are packed with pro-government figures. Some pro-government politicians, including lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun, also said it was challenging for their groups to secure nominations.

Kwok, who is widely known as the “king of judicial reviews,” said the nomination mechanism was against Article 26 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, which stipulates that “Permanent residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall have the right to vote and the right to stand for election in accordance with law”.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is listed as the respondent to this case, as seen in the court papers, while Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai and Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok are listed as interested parties.

Kwok also quoted Article 11 of the Hong Kong Basic Law in the writ, which says that “in accordance with Article 31 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, the systems and policies practiced in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, including the social and economic systems, the system for safeguarding the fundamental rights and freedoms of its residents, the executive, legislative and judicial systems, and the relevant policies, shall be based on the provisions of this Law.

“No law enacted by the legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall contravene this Law.” It wrote.