Foreign lawyers in national security cases still face Hong Kong’s immigration laws even if proposed vetting mechanism is not retrospective: deputy justice minister

Hong Kong’s deputy justice minister has highlighted the need for foreign lawyers previously hired for national security cases to comply with the city’s immigration laws even if a proposed vetting mechanism did not apply to them.

Deputy Secretary of Justice Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan comments on Sunday came after Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok earlier said the proposed legal amendment giving Hong Kong’s leader the final say on the role of foreign lawyers in national security cases would not be retrospective.

But Lam hinted that previous applications for foreign lawyers to be involved in national security cases could still be barred as there would be “other ways” to handle them, without specifying how this would be achieved or whether he was referring to jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s attempt to hire British barrister Timothy Owen.

While Cheung on Sunday refused to comment on individual cases, the deputy minister said earlier ones involving overseas counsel that were not covered by the proposed mechanism would still be subject to other requirements.

“Foreign lawyers have to file an application and the court will exercise discretion based on public interest. Moreover, they have to comply with the laws in Hong Kong, including the Immigration Ordinance and other ordinances, to work in the city,” he explained.

Last November, the city’s top court upheld a decision to allow Owen to defend Lai, the founder of the now-closed Apple Daily newspaper, in his collusion case.

The move prompted Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to seek an interpretation of the national security law from the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, with China’s top legislative body issuing its ruling last December.