Au, Thomas Hing Cheung 區慶祥
Re admission of Timothy Wynn Owen KC to defend Jimmy Lai Chee Ying in NSL case
HK Court of Appeal, 21-Nov-2022
Leave to appeal to the CFA is refused. Now on his 4th Senior Counsel, the SJ is represented by former SJ Rimsky Yuen. Biting the cherry again, he claims 2 new points (which should've been raised in the first instance): (1) that overseas counsel might leak State Secrets and are not subject to local discipline - but the NSL has global effect, and England & Wales Barristers are subject to global regulation under their Bar Standards Handbook; and (2) that there should be a presumption against overseas counsel in NSL cases. The court writes "Contrary to Mr Yuen’s submission that he seeks to establish matters of principle, we consider this an unprincipled approach and goes against the grain of guiding principles for the exercise of judicial discretion. It is an untenable proposition".
HK Court of Appeal, 21-Nov-2022
Leave to appeal to the CFA is refused. Now on his 4th Senior Counsel, the SJ is represented by former SJ Rimsky Yuen. Biting the cherry again, he claims 2 new points (which should've been raised in the first instance): (1) that overseas counsel might leak State Secrets and are not subject to local discipline - but the NSL has global effect, and England & Wales Barristers are subject to global regulation under their Bar Standards Handbook; and (2) that there should be a presumption against overseas counsel in NSL cases. The court writes "Contrary to Mr Yuen’s submission that he seeks to establish matters of principle, we consider this an unprincipled approach and goes against the grain of guiding principles for the exercise of judicial discretion. It is an untenable proposition".
Re admission of Timothy Wynn Owen KC to defend Jimmy Lai Chee Ying in NSL case
HK Court of Appeal, 9-Nov-2022
Dismissing the appeal of the Secretary for Justice against admission, the Court writes: "It is of vital importance in the early days of the NSL that our jurisprudence should be developed on solid foundations to reflect adherence to the rule of law in accordance with internationally adopted judicial standards. It would clearly be in the public interest to have the contribution of eminent jurists in developing our jurisprudence in the NSL" and "Public perception of fairness in the trial is of vital importance to the administration of justice"
HK Court of Appeal, 9-Nov-2022
Dismissing the appeal of the Secretary for Justice against admission, the Court writes: "It is of vital importance in the early days of the NSL that our jurisprudence should be developed on solid foundations to reflect adherence to the rule of law in accordance with internationally adopted judicial standards. It would clearly be in the public interest to have the contribution of eminent jurists in developing our jurisprudence in the NSL" and "Public perception of fairness in the trial is of vital importance to the administration of justice"
Long Hair wins final appeal on prison haircuts
| Justice is blind, except for haircuts
HK Court of Final Appeal, 27-Nov-2020
The top court unanimously overturns the Court of Appeal's unanimous judgment by (soon to be Chief Justice) Andrew Cheung, Johnson Lam and Jeremy Poon. Male prisoners were not given the same choice as female prisoners over their hair length, and that was sex discrimination. See our article of 1-May-2018 analysing the CA's faulty judgment. First Instance Justice Thomas Au Hing Cheung (now a CA judge) is vindicated.
HK Court of Final Appeal, 27-Nov-2020
The top court unanimously overturns the Court of Appeal's unanimous judgment by (soon to be Chief Justice) Andrew Cheung, Johnson Lam and Jeremy Poon. Male prisoners were not given the same choice as female prisoners over their hair length, and that was sex discrimination. See our article of 1-May-2018 analysing the CA's faulty judgment. First Instance Justice Thomas Au Hing Cheung (now a CA judge) is vindicated.
24 legislators v CE in Council & others
HK Court of Appeal, 9-Apr-2020
The CA overturns the CFI and rules that the Emergency Regulations Ordinance is constitutional. It also rules that the anti-mask regulation made under the ERO is constitutional for unauthorized assemblies, but it upholds the CFI's ruling that the regulation is unconstitutional in the case of authorized meetings and marches. We expect both sides to go to the Court of Final Appeal.
HK Court of Appeal, 9-Apr-2020
The CA overturns the CFI and rules that the Emergency Regulations Ordinance is constitutional. It also rules that the anti-mask regulation made under the ERO is constitutional for unauthorized assemblies, but it upholds the CFI's ruling that the regulation is unconstitutional in the case of authorized meetings and marches. We expect both sides to go to the Court of Final Appeal.
"Long Hair" gets short cut to final appeal
| Justice is blind, except for haircuts
HK Court of Final Appeal, 13-Aug-2019
Mr Leung is granted leave for a final appeal to be heard on 18-Feb-2020. More people in wigs will hear his plea that male and female prisoners should have the same rule on haircuts. The UK removed the different treatment by 1999, as we reported last year in "Justice is blind, except for haircuts", after the Court of Appeal overturned the First Instance judgment which was in his favour.
HK Court of Final Appeal, 13-Aug-2019
Mr Leung is granted leave for a final appeal to be heard on 18-Feb-2020. More people in wigs will hear his plea that male and female prisoners should have the same rule on haircuts. The UK removed the different treatment by 1999, as we reported last year in "Justice is blind, except for haircuts", after the Court of Appeal overturned the First Instance judgment which was in his favour.
Justice is blind, except for haircuts
The Court of Appeal rules that a prison order requiring men to have short hair and allowing women to choose is not discriminatory, because of societal norms for haircuts. We find substantial flaws in this reasoning. We also find that the UK rule which HK inherited was amended by 1999 to remove the discrimination, something that Long Hair's lawyers appear to have overlooked. (1-May-2018)
The Court of Appeal rules that a prison order requiring men to have short hair and allowing women to choose is not discriminatory, because of societal norms for haircuts. We find substantial flaws in this reasoning. We also find that the UK rule which HK inherited was amended by 1999 to remove the discrimination, something that Long Hair's lawyers appear to have overlooked. (1-May-2018)
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