Jonathan Sumption, who recently resigned as a non-permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal of the Hong Kong SAR, has recently denigrated the rule of law in Hong Kong in a negative article. In an interview, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam pointed out that the image of the rule of law in Hong Kong should not be affected by one person's biased remarks or on the basis of a particular case.
Lam pointed out that Sumption should not have made the remarks in his capacity as a judge, saying that it would exert far greater pressure on the community and that his remarks were unfair to other ex-colleagues. However, he said that his past contribution to the courts in Hong Kong would not be erased just because he made some inappropriate remarks.
Lam also mentioned that some absconders thought that they were out of Hong Kong, so they would continue to engage in acts that jeopardized national security.
"The government would not just sit back and do nothing about it, but would use the law to impose terms and conditions on them, so as to reduce their ability to commit acts that jeopardized national security," he said.
As to whether the authorities would take the same measures against other absconders, Lam said the Security Bureau would decide on a case-by-case basis.
Comment