District Court does have jurisdiction to hear sedition cases, Hong Kong judge rules, despite questions raised by national security law
- Judge finds that despite changes to sedition’s legal status under the security law, activist Tam Tak-chi’s case does not need to be forwarded to a higher court
- The common interpretation of parts of the Magistrates Ordinance, however, will need to adapt to allow for the special exemption for national security cases
The District Court has ruled that it has the jurisdiction to try sedition charges on indictment, contrary to objections raised by Hong Kong opposition activist Tam Tak-chi in a bid to block his trial.
Judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi on Friday threw out Tam’s effort to challenge his power to hear eight of the 14 charges the activist is facing, which include seven counts of uttering seditious words and a related conspiracy charge.
“I rule that these charges are validly transferred to the District Court,” Chan said. “And I have the jurisdiction and power to try these charges.”
The national security law, imposed on the city by Beijing last June, indeed states that any “offence endangering national security within the jurisdiction of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be tried on indictment”.
Prosecutors, however, countered that the enactment of the new law did not change the nature of sedition as a less serious summary offence – which can be tried in lower courts – and maintained that the charges were properly transferred to the district level along with the six remaining counts.
The judge said this jurisdictional issue could have “a far-reaching effect”, whether directly or indirectly, on Part III of the Second Schedule to the Magistrates Ordinance, which sets out a list of indictable offences that cannot be transferred to the District Court.