Hong Kong judges told ‘evil’ trafficking for forced labour must be outlawed under dedicated new offence
- Lawyers for victim demand specific offence to tackle ‘colossal’ issue of modern slavery and related human trafficking
- Government disputes scale of the problem, says proposed changes would have negative consequences for Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s top court on Tuesday began hearing a landmark appeal on whether forced labour and human trafficking for that purpose should be criminalised in the city under a new offence.
Lawyers for a Pakistani victim of forced labour in Hong Kong, bringing the first such case to the city’s Court of Final Appeal, are calling for a bespoke offence in line with international standards to target the “evil” that has become “a colossal problem everywhere”.
But the government disagreed with the scale of the problem in the city and expressed concerns that extending criminal liability would create economic, social welfare and immigration consequences in light of Hong Kong’s unique position.
At issue was whether Article 4 of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, which prohibits slavery, servitude and forced labour, also bars human trafficking for such purposes and imposes an absolute duty on the government to maintain a specific offence.
The two-day appeal was brought before Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li and justices Roberto Ribeiro, Joseph Fok, Patrick Chan Siu-oi and Beverley McLauchlin, with the government represented by a four-strong team comprising a Queen’s Counsel leading two local silks and a junior.