Lord Lester calls on lawmakers to speed up reforms to aid justice

Hong Kong's judges have been left to carry too heavy a burden in upholding human rights because of a state of "near-paralysis" in the city's legislature, a prominent British barrister and lawmaker warned.

Lord Lester of Herne Hill, QC, who delivered a lecture at the University of Hong Kong last night, told the South China Morning Post a failure by officials and legislators to make much-needed changes to the law left difficult issues to be resolved by the courts instead.

"The Hong Kong judiciary is stronger now than it was in colonial times," Lester said.

"One of the problems is that owing to the near paralysis of the law-making role here and the behaviour of different politicians and political parties, and the near impossibility of getting legislative reforms through in an orderly way, a great deal of responsibility is placed on the judiciary."

Lester, 74, a veteran campaigner for law reform in Britain, said there was a need for legislators to put aside their differences and work together to make the improvements needed to ensure the law moves with the times.

He urged the government to repeal or amend "antique colonial laws" that threatened free speech, such as criminal libel, blasphemous libel and scandalising the judiciary. Legislation was also needed to strike the right balance between free expression and other rights, such as privacy.

Lester's comments follow controversy over former secretary for justice Elsie Leung Oi-sie's statement that the city's judges fail to understand the relationship between Hong Kong and the central government, and had made mistakes in their judgments. She said a Basic Law interpretation from Beijing on the right of abode was the best way to tackle a contentious court decision that has encouraged expectant mainland women to give birth in Hong Kong.