Public confidence in the impartiality of Hong Kong's courts has fallen to its lowest point since the handover, an opinion poll has found.
The University of Hong Kong poll found confidence in all three indictors of rule of law - impartiality of the courts, compliance with the rule of law, and fairness of the judicial system - had recorded drops.
The academics who carried out the poll said the falls were due to the controversy surrounding the sentencing of a top judge's niece for assaulting a police officer.
The rating on impartiality of the courts dropped to 6.16 out of 10 in the poll of 1,007 respondents conducted between August 10 and 13, a record low since the handover. In the previous poll in February, the rating on impartiality of the courts was 7.40, while the rating just after the handover was 6.92 in July 1997.
The rating for fairness of the judicial system was 6.06, compared to 7.05 in February, representing the lowest level since July 2001.
Compliance with the rule of law rated 6.61, down from 6.88 in February, while the rating for outgoing Chief Justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang dropped from 68.1 out of 100 in February to 67.5 in the latest poll.
The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points, and the response rate was 61.3 per cent.
