Rights advocates yesterday hailed as a significant victory the Court of Appeal's affirmation of the right to equality under criminal law for gays and lesbians, but said many battles remained to be fought.
Roddy Shaw Kwok-wah of Civil Rights for Sexual Diversities said it was important the judgment came from a higher court, which sent a strong message to the government by citing international jurisprudence on the issue.
'It is a very strong message to the community that the courts for the second time upheld the right to equal protection for the LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender] community in Hong Kong,' Mr Shaw said from Bangkok.
'From a legal point of view, it is also very important as [it is] the second case in Hong Kong since the handover where primary legislation has been struck down as unconstitutional.'
It is understood that the only other case in which the Basic Law was used to strike down a piece of legislation was that brought by 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung on phone tapping against Section 33 of the Telecommunications Ordinance.
'This is a landmark case which reaffirmed that the Basic Law and the Bill of Rights Ordinance protect gays and lesbians, and inequality in other policy areas will definitely be subject to challenge in the future,' Mr Shaw said.
