Hong Kong mask law: Beijing claim on ‘unconstitutional’ ruling could spell end of ‘one country, two systems’, legal heavyweights warn
- City’s legal scholars say any action from Beijing could be ‘disastrous’ for politically charged cases
- Spokesman for NPCSC’s Legislative Affairs Commission said High Court ruling did not comply with Hong Kong’s mini-constitution
Hong Kong’s legal scholars have warned Beijing’s latest statement suggesting the city’s courts cannot rule on constitutional matters could spell the end of “one country, two systems”, even as pro-establishment heavyweights sought to placate such fears.
The concerns were sparked after the Legislative Affairs Commission of China’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), on Tuesday criticised the court’s decision on the government’s mask ban against protesters, which it ruled unconstitutional.
The judgment forced police to halt law enforcement while legal experts in mainland China floated the possibility of another legal interpretation by Beijing.
But even before such a move is undertaken – often a fraught one criticised for weakening judicial independence – the suggestion that the High Court had no remit on determining whether a law was in accordance with the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, set off alarm bells across the legal community.
On Tuesday morning, Zang Tiewei, spokesman for the commission, said the court ruling “did not comply” with the city’s mini-constitution and the standing committee’s past decisions.
Whether a local law is in conformity with the Basic Law “can only be judged and decided by the NPCSC, and no other organ has the right to judge or decide”, Zang said.
