LettersHong Kong protests: city lawyers cannot let rule of law become collateral damage

Lawlessness cannot be allowed to become the new normal in a city where the rule of law is a core value. Under the maxim “equality before the law”, no one is above the law, whether the government or the private citizen

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Protesters march past the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong on October 11. Photo: AP

Published: 6:45am, 13 Nov 2019Updated: 6:45am, 13 Nov 2019

We write on behalf of a group of concerned lawyers who are deeply saddened by recent scenes of shocking violence and lawlessness, unimaginable in this once shining city just a few short months ago. This cannot be condoned or allowed to become the new normal.

The rule of law is a core value that defines Hong Kong, our home, the foundation of its hard-earned reputation and success. As our Chief Justice recently reminded us, the rule of law fundamentally means “the existence and enforcement by an independent judiciary of laws that respect human dignity and effort in a way that recognises legal content, legal substance and the spirit of the law”.

In Hong Kong, the extensive rights and freedoms we enjoy are enshrined in and guaranteed by, among other things, the Basic Law, including Article 39, which expressly recognises the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as implemented in Hong Kong by the Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap 383).

These, together with our other legal rights, are impartially and steadfastly enforced by our courts of law, which are recognised globally for their fairness and independence.

The rule of law not only enables us to protect and defend our rights and freedoms but also places upon us the burdens of personal responsibility and legal consequence for our choices and actions.

The maxim, “equality before the law”, means that the law applies with equal force to the government as well as the private citizen. No one is above the law, and political ends and objectives, no matter how noble we believe them to be, can never be justification for means which desecrate the rule of law. Lawyers, especially those in public or elected office, should need no reminder on this.