More than a year after retired Court of Final Appeal judge Henry Litton warned against the widespread abuse of judicial reviews for political purposes, the trend has continued unabated.

Until recently, it was the political weapon of choice for many pan-democratic and anti-government groups. Now, some pro-Beijing activists have followed suit. There have been at least three applications for judicial reviews since October on the subject of localist lawmakers who failed to take their oaths of office properly. This was despite legal cases already launched at the time by the government against those legislators.

Which serves the public interest more – Lo’s judicial review or a museum to showcase the nation’s treasure at no significant cost to the public? After all, the Jockey Club has agreed to foot the HK$3.5 billion bill. Lo says he has no political ties. But he is part of the new activist JR group, which aims to provide free service, information and advice for people to launch judicial reviews.