bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Cliff Buddle

A judge yesterday warned he may block a new challenge to the provisional legislature because the body has already been ruled legal by the Court of Appeal.

 Mr Justice Brian Keith told lawyers representing immigrant children he has the power to stop a fresh attack going ahead if he feels it is inappropriate.

 He said the first action to be funded by legal aid, launched by seven-year-old Cheung Lai-wah on Friday, might not be suitable as a test case because the Immigration Department had not made a final decision on whether the girl had to leave Hong Kong.

 Mr Justice Keith made his comments as the Department of Justice clashed with the children's lawyers over which cases should be selected for the landmark battle.

 The case was adjourned for a week in the hope that an agreement can be reached.

 Mr Justice Keith said he would hear argument on Monday as to whether the challenge to the provisional legislature should go ahead.

 He said he did not yet know on which grounds it was claimed the interim body had no power to bring in new immigration laws.

 'I am aware that a similar issue has been addressed by the Court of Appeal recently,' he said.

 'I have got to address the question of whether it is appropriate for the issue to be canvassed again in this case.'   Some lawyers have claimed that last week's Court of Appeal ruling was not binding on other cases.

 The immigrant children's fight for the right of abode went to the Court of First Instance yesterday for a preliminary hearing.

 They claim the right is enshrined in the Basic Law and cannot be changed by new legislation brought in by the provisional legislature.

 A dispute has arisen with the Department of Justice over which actions should be used as test cases.

 Kwok Siu-hay, for the children, said Lai-wah's case should be acceptable because the decision had been made to arrest her and release her on bail.

 But Anthony Wu, for the Government, said no final decision had been made as to her status and, therefore, the court had no jurisdiction to consider her challenge.

 Mr Wu said the factual background to cases like Lai-wah's was still being considered by the Department of Justice.

 The judge was only prepared to consider cases where a decision has been made.

 He said he would not rule on the law 'in a legal vacuum'.

 After the hearing the children's solicitor, William Clarke, said the Government had seized on a new legal point.

 He said it was strange it was now saying no decision had been made in these cases.

 The Legal Aid Department had received 1,302 applications from immigrant children by Saturday.

  They have so far granted 264 and refused 242.

 There have been 20 appeals lodged against refusals to grant legal aid.

  A spokesman for the Immigration Department denied that some of those refused legal aid had already been removed.



Judge warns he may block new attack on interim legislature