Civil nomination still possible: Basic Law expert Alan Hoo

Allowing the public to put forward names for the 2017 chief executive race will still be in line with the Basic Law - provided that a nominating panel gets to further narrow the pool, a local expert on the mini-constitution says.

Basic Law Institute chairman Alan Hoo said this mechanism would not compromise the current - and legal - function of the nominating committee in "nominating chief executive candidates" in accordance with "democratic procedures".

The arrangement of civil nomination - as it has been termed - was first raised by pro-democracy advocates, followed by the endorsement of another pro-Beijing heavyweight, University of Hong Kong professor Albert Chen Hung-yee, a member of the Basic Law Committee under the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

But Zhang Xiaoming, head of the central government's liaison office, recently wrote in an open letter to Civic Party leader Leong Kah-kit that civil nomination "neglected the requirements stated in the Basic Law", insisting that the committee was solely responsible for the nomination of candidates.

Hoo nonetheless said he believed his proposal was in line with Zhang's view, arguing that the nominating committee's duty did not extend to selecting "who wanted to vie for chief executive candidacy".

"Therefore, on the one hand, the nominating committee members can continue nominating intended runners, while on the other hand, the public can also become nominators," Hoo, who is a barrister, said.