Sufficient consultation on barring foreign lawyers from security trials: Lam

Authorities have run sufficient consultation on a bill barring overseas lawyers from participating in national security trials, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok said.

"The Bills Committee has already held two meetings since the first reading in March. There was also a seven-day public consultation period," he said on TV yesterday, adding that legislators had been consulted before the first reading.

The Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2023 was introduced into the Legislative Council this March to demand that local courts obtain a certificate from Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to allow overseas lawyers from participating in national security cases.

That followed the interpretation of the national security law by the National People's Congress in December last year, after London-based barrister Tim Owen, who is not admitted to the Hong Kong bar, was granted approval by the Court of Final Appeal to represent media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying in a national security trial.

Lam's remarks come as the second reading of the amendment, which includes an "overriding principle" to bar overseas lawyers, resumes today.

Lam said it would be inappropriate to allow legal representation by barristers who are not qualified in cases involving national security, denying claims that their minds were already made up.

Asked whether the political views and backgrounds of overseas lawyers and their clients, who might be seen as "colluding with foreign forces", would be taken into account in the vetting process, Lam said "their backgrounds would not be completely disregarded," adding "it will be considered holistically."

On the Department of Justice's proposal to amend the Criminal Procedure Ordinance so that prosecutors could overturn a not-guilty verdict and order a retrial, Lam said the move only aims to unify practices for all courts.

Lam also said that he disagreed with the judiciary's proposal to adopt the use of remote hearings for criminal proceedings to be introduced in the fourth quarter.

However, he said: "I believe the judiciary will be careful and prudent in striking a balance between efficiency and protecting the legal process."