header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us

What future for Hong Kong?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2025. All Rights Reserved.
29 July 2020 / Dr Ping-fat Sze
Issue: 7897 / Categories: Features , Profession , International justice
printer mail-detail
25158
Dr Ping-fat Sze reflects on the recently introduced national security law & the administration of justice in Hong Kong

On the eve of the 23rd anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) in Beijing shocked the world by promulgating a national security law for this former British colony, criminalising any act of secession, subversion, terrorism or collusion with foreign or external forces.

Its provisions, which were kept secret until after it had been passed (incidentally, without any prior consultation in Hong Kong), were widely, if not also vaguely phrased.

This law takes precedence over both the Basic Law and the other law of Hong Kong. Its administration falls within the jurisdiction of a national security commission chaired by the chief executive of Hong Kong, who is to act on the advice of a security official from Beijing. The commission is vested with very wide powers, including the selection of judges to hear cases brought under this law. The

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: DNA evidence—justice on ice?
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
NLJ this week: Fraud claims climb as courts brace for AI threats
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
NLJ this week: Pro bono power without the red tape
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
NLJ this week: Trans pool player loses discrimination fight
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
NLJ this week: Traders’ convictions quashed in Libor shock
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll