Decision on Hong Kong localist duo should be made by Legco, not court, lawyers argue in high-stakes hearing over oath saga
Judicial review over potential disqualification of Sixtus Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching to continue amid reports of National People’s Congress stepping in
Key points today:
> All the lawyers are hoping Mr Justice Thomas Au Hing-cheung will deliver his ruling before the National People’s Congress Standing Committee does (if it does) so that the court will not be pre-empted; the judge says he will think about it.
> The government’s lawyers argue that the constitutional provision requiring lawmakers to duly take the oath – Article 104 of the Basic Law – “is at stake” and therefore the court should intervene.
> The localists’ lawyers argue that the Basic Law provides for a separation of powers. They contend the oath-taking controversy should be resolved by the Legislative Council itself through a “political process” rather than a judicial process.
> Legco president Andrew Leung’s lawyer distances his client from the localists, saying Leung should not be dragged into the case at all. Leung no longer argues for the duo’s constitutional right to perform their duties as duly elected lawmakers as he did in the last hearing.
> Hectar Pun, counsel for Baggio Leung, says Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has wrongly put his name on the case. Pun argues that the law says only the secretary for justice shall represent the government in court proceedings involving Legco.