The courts will have the final say on whether groups in Hong Kong can be banned under proposed national security laws - even if similar organisations have been outlawed on the mainland, Solicitor-General Robert Allcock has pledged.
Mr Allcock said the mainland's approach to national security would not be adopted, and judges would zealously guard principles of international law when deciding whether a ban imposed by the security chief was legal.
'The effect of this is that if the secretary for security uses a sledgehammer to crack a nut, the courts will strike it down,' he said.
Concerns have been raised over a proposal to allow Hong Kong groups to be proscribed if they are affiliated to organisations banned on the mainland on national security grounds.
Critics have suggested this will effectively give the central government the power to outlaw organisations in Hong Kong, and will threaten groups like the Falun Gong.
But Mr Allcock sought to play down such fears. 'All possible safeguards will be in there to ensure it cannot be abused,' he said. 'If the secretary for security automatically banned an affiliated body it would be patently unlawful and would be struck down by the courts.'
He said a ban by the mainland authorities would simply trigger a decision-making process in Hong Kong. The secretary for security would first have to decide whether a group in the SAR was affiliated to the mainland organisation.