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‘Ungrounded’ attacks on Hong Kong’s judiciary are a threat to the city’s rule of law, say legal experts
Senior Counsel Paul Lam said there was risk people may lose confidence in Hong Kong’s courts and an urgent need for professional bodies to address these concerns
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Two leading legal professionals have defended the court judgement which sent three Hong Kong pro-democracy student leaders to jail, saying the “ungrounded” attacks on the judiciary would undermine the city’s rule of law.
Senior Counsel Paul Lam Ting-kwok, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association, also explained why his group, in a rare move, issued a joint statement with the Law Society last week to hit out at media for suggesting there were political motives behind the six to eight month jail terms for Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Alex Chow Yong-kang.
“Many people have suggested the judiciary has already lost its independence and that the court has succumbed to the pressure from the central government ... they have cast doubts on the integrity of the judges,” Lam told Commercial Radio on Saturday morning.
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“But how much do these subjective suspicions reflect the objective reality?”
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He said there was an urgent need for the professional bodies to address the concern as such criticism could harm the city’s rule of law, with people losing confidence in or respect for the courts.
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