Hong Kong mask law: judges give themselves time to deliberate suspension of controversial emergency ruling
- On Monday, Justices Anderson Chow and Godfrey Lam ruled the mask ban, which was implemented in October, unconstitutional
- Justice department had then written to the judges to keep the ban ‘valid and of legal effect’ until a final verdict was reached
A Hong Kong court is mulling over whether to suspend its ruling to declare the government’s anti-mask law unconstitutional after a request on Thursday by the justice department which argued there was a need to quell the festering social unrest.
Court of First Instance Justices Anderson Chow Ka-ming and Godfrey Lam Wan-ho said they would make their decision – seen as highly politically charged after their earlier ruling drew Beijing’s ire – on a later day after the Department of Justice sought to keep the law in place for now, asserting that it had been working.
Barrister Benjamin Yu SC, for the justice secretary, revealed the department was poised to file an appeal as soon as the court had made a decision on the suspension.
While courts in Hong Kong sometimes decide immediately after hearing the parties’ arguments, the two judges decided to reserve judgment and take time to deliberate before handing down their much-anticipated ruling.
The earlier arrangement for two judges to preside over the case – as opposed to the convention of one – also highlighted the significance of the issue at stake.
The two justices said they would inform the government, which is the respondent, and the 24 pro-democracy lawmakers and activist “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung who brought the case, when they had come to a conclusion.