Hong Kong justice chief slammed in row over judicial rulings related to Occupy protests

Recent harsh criticism of local judges by pro-Beijing figures has called into question Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung’s willingness to stand up for the judiciary, a group of pro-democracy lawyers said.

The Progressive Lawyers Group yesterday questioned Yuen’s failure to defend against what the group saw as “unwarranted attacks on the judiciary”.

“We ... call on the secretary for justice, who under common law tradition and convention is tasked with being the ultimate defender of the judiciary, to speak out clearly and forcefully against such outrageous and scurrilous attacks on the judiciary,” the group said in a statement.

Critics say judges should not have cleared protesters or treated them leniently by binding them over for offences ranging from participating in an unauthorised assembly to obstructing police.

The Justice Department later issued a press release setting out its stand. It noted comments by Yuen at last year’s opening of the legal year, in which he criticised “abusive attacks and unwarranted conduct which would undermine the independence of the judiciary”.

The justice secretary also called on the community “not to take any step which may constitute contempt of court or other criminal offences, or otherwise may prejudice judicial independence”. He said the Justice Department would not hesitate to take appropriate action.