The courts may need to adjourn any hearing on a judicial review of the chief executive's term while an interpretation by the nation's top legislature is awaited, legal experts suggested yesterday.
But the Bar Association argued that the government's decision to seek a Basic Law interpretation from the National People's Congress Standing Committee should not affect judicial review proceedings in local courts.
The comments came as independent lawmaker Albert Chan Wai-yip launched the second legal challenge to a planned amendment to the Chief Executive Election Ordinance stipulating a successor will serve only the remainder of Tung Chee-hwa's term.
He applied to the High Court for a judicial review, just two hours before acting Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen announced the decision to ask the State Council to make a request to the NPC Standing Committee to interpret Article 53 of the Basic Law.
Simon Young, associate law professor at the University of Hong Kong, said a court might not want to make a ruling before the Standing Committee's decision. 'We can't totally import common law tradition and principle because the Basic Law clearly states that the power of interpretation is vested in the NPC Standing Committee.'
The court might also have to wait as the amendment to the Chief Executive Ordinance had yet to be passed in the legislature.
University of Hong Kong law professor and Basic Law Committee member Albert Chen Hung-yee said the best way for the court was to act 'according to law procedures' as time restrictions might make it impossible to handle the case before the interpretation.
