Court of Appeal calls on Hong Kong government to do more to investigate forced labour

A Hong Kong appellate court on Thursday urged the government to act quickly to plug a loophole over its failure to investigate potential forced labour as seen in the case of a Pakistani man who launched the city’s first judicial review on the subject.

But the three Court of Appeal judges also ruled in favour of the government, concluding that Article 4 of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights, which prohibits slavery, does not cover human trafficking, nor does it entail an obligation to enact a specific offence to combat such human rights violations.

The case was the first appeal of the landmark judicial review application over forced labour and human trafficking for that purpose.

At issue was whether a Pakistani man, identified in court as Zn, was a victim of forced labour, and whether human trafficking for forced labour is covered by Article 4. The appeal also raised the question of whether the government breached its duty under the article by not enacting a specific criminal offence and by not investigating Zn’s case.

Thursday’s 106-page judgment, largely penned by Chief Judge of the High Court Mr Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, was a partial win for both sides.

While Zn said he was thankful for the court’s appeal for the government to do more, his lawyer Patricia Ho said the decision had brought “disheartening news” to victims of human trafficking.

“The judgment is clearly disappointing in that it does not require the government to specifically criminalise human trafficking and forced labour,” the leading human rights lawyer said as she urged authorities to establish a legal framework accessible to victims of human trafficking.