Ma pushed for database on protest rulings

Staff reporters

Judgments of protest cases handled by magistrates' courts should be compiled in a database to provide statistics on conviction and sentencing, a lawyer group said in an open letter to Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li.

The group, Lawyers HK, who claim to be legal professional members who "firmly support the rule of law and the maintenance of law and order, regardless of political affiliation," made four suggestions in the open letter on Saturday.

This came as Ma issued an 18-page statement on judges' political neutrality and the independence of Hong Kong's judiciary last week.

The group suggested setting up a database where judgments, sentencing and the results of any appeals or reviews of magistrates' court cases related to social events and public order are cataloged systematically so the public can check information.

"This would increase transparency and can serve as a way to monitor the impartiality of the courts in a data-driven way. We believe this can help rebuild the public's confidence in the judiciary," the group said.

The group also called on Ma to make sure treatment of comments toward judges who handled protest cases was consistent as Ma had suspended district court judge Kwok Wai-kin, who called a wounding with intent defendant "noble," from hearing political related cases, but did not take any action when magistrate Kelly Shui praised a 15-year-old petrol-bomb making defendant who had to repeat secondary three a "superb youngster."

Following the incident, the court of appeal questioned the appropriateness of Shui's description.

The group also said there should be periodic reviews of the suitability of magistrates who "repeatedly err in principle in their judgments." It again named Shui as an example, saying she only focused on the defendant's rehabilitation and disregarded other aggravating factors, resulting in manifestly inadequate sentencing.

The group also suggested the court of appeal should provide more sentencing guidelines to magistrates to avoid substantial discrepancies in sentencing and controversies arising from such discrepancies. The letter came after Ma released a statement on Wednesday saying that criticism against the courts and judges must be informed, solidly based and properly made amid a recent flood of disapproving remarks against the judiciary in protest-linked cases.

He has said unfounded criticism would be detrimental to public confidence in the administration of justice and ultimately to the rule of law.

He has also said judges must be impartial, and several courses are available when they are not.

The judgments can be followed by an appeal or review or an application for recusal by the defendants or the prosecution or by the secretary for justice.

Complaints can also be filed to the judiciary via an established mechanism.