Citizen’s legal bid to disqualify Hong Kong lawmakers over oath saga fails due to unpaid deposit
Retiree Lo King-yeung will also have to bear the legal costs of ‘king of votes’ Eddie Chu and Civic Passion’s Cheng Chung-tai
Legal bids to unseat more Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers over the oath-taking saga have hit a wall after a judge on Monday disallowed a citizen’s challenge seeking the disqualification of two more legislators.
According to Chu and Cheng’s lawyers, Lo’s case was the last one lodged by private citizens regarding disqualifying pro-democracy lawmakers. There were a few earlier challenges of a similar nature but all failed to proceed.
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It is unlikely that any further bids will be lodged due to an earlier ruling in which the Court of Appeal set out in a judgment in another disqualification case that applications had to be filed within six months of the lawmakers’ swearing-in ceremony in October last year.
Lo was also ordered to pay the legal costs of Chu and Cheng. He can still appeal.
The court heard earlier that Lo’s solicitor firm Chin and Associates had formed a “misinformed view” on the relevant provision in the Legislative Council Ordinance, thinking that Lo would not have to pay the legal deposit unless Chu and Cheng’s side asked for it. His counsel Lawrence Ma Yan-kwok urged the court earlier not to “penalise” Lo for his solicitor’s mistake.