The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (the Convention) protects the fundamental freedoms and inherent rights of children, and has been applied in Hong Kong since 1994.

On Oct 25, when the Hong Kong chief executive, John Lee Ka-chiu, delivered his Policy Address, he announced three initiatives of particular significance for the legal world.

On July 1, 2022, when President Xi Jinping visited the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for its 25th anniversary, he emphasized his commitment to the future of its "one country, two systems" governing policy. He hoped the policy would keep "advancing in the right direction", and emphasized that it was "an integral whole". This meant that upholding China's sovereignty, security and development was "the paramount principle in the policy of 'one country, two systems'".

Since 2004, The Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE) has measured the world's universities in key academic areas. It provides reliable data for students and their families, academics, university leaders and industry, facilitating the choices they have to make.

Birmingham is the United Kingdom's second-largest city. After London and Manchester, it is the third-most popular destination for Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) passport holders who have migrated to Britain, many under the UK's special immigration scheme, which started on Jan 31, 2021 (and which, as of March 31, 2023, had attracted 172,500 applications, with 166,420 visas having been granted).

Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles is a remarkable man. After a glittering diplomatic career, in which he served as British ambassador to Afghanistan, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, he became senior adviser to the group chairman of HSBC. He is now the bank's head of public affairs, with responsibility for its relations with governments around the world. He also chairs the China-Britain Business Council, the UK's national business network that promotes trade and investment with China.

On July 31, the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region launched its public consultation for the chief executive's 2023 Policy Address. Over 30 consultation sessions are being conducted, with the views of legislative councilors, community representatives and the general public being solicited. Once the process is complete, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu will deliver his Policy Address on Oct 25, and he says, "Together, let's make Hong Kong a better home."

The Spectator magazine describes the author Lawrence James as "the doyen of English historians". In his latest book, The Lion and the Dragon, published on Aug 3, he charts the rise and fall of the British Empire, and considers the humiliation of China in the 19th century, and its subsequent rise. He places the two Sino-British opium wars in their overall context, and describes how Britain justified its global aggression in terms of its "civilizing mission".

On July 14, the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Cap.221), following Legislative Council scrutiny, was amended to provide the secretary for justice with two new rights of appeal.

As the US president, Joe Biden, has repeatedly shown, he is no friend of Hong Kong. Indeed, this is one of the few things he has in common with his predecessor, Donald Trump. Whereas Trump, in 2020, announced that the city would "never succeed" under Chinese rule and its markets would "go to hell", Biden followed this up with his notorious "Hong Kong Business Advisory", in 2021, which sought to frighten US businesses away from Hong Kong.

After the National Security Law for Hong Kong (NSL) was enacted on June 30, 2020, it was applied with considerable restraint. Although foreign propagandists have given the impression it is being used indiscriminately against anybody whom the authorities dislike, this could not be further from the truth, as the statistics show.

In like vein, the British foreign secretary, James Cleverly, declared, on July 3, after eight arrest warrants were issued in Hong Kong for national security suspects living abroad who were believed to have endangered national security in various ways including by colluding with foreign forces to harm China, "The UK will always defend the universal right to freedom of expression and stand up for those who are targeted", which sounded nice enough.

The criminal justice system has various objectives, which include upholding the law and bringing offenders to account. This cannot be achieved by the police alone, and the cooperation of victims is vital. If they do not report crimes or otherwise refuse to assist, offenders may not only evade justice, but also remain a threat to society.

In 2022, when James Cleverly was appointed the United Kingdom's foreign secretary, some thought he could master his portfolio. Although his two predecessors, Dominic Raab and Liz Truss, had fallen down on the job, there were hopes he was cut from better cloth. Whereas Raab was removed from office after he bungled the Afghanistan crisis in 2021, Truss' blunders are legendary. They include her announcement in 2022 that two Russian regions were not Russian, and informing Britons, in violation of British law, they could "absolutely" go to fight in Ukraine if they wanted.

Grenville Cross SC delivered an opening speech at a forum organized by the Law Society of Hong Kong on Tuesday (July 11). The following is the script of his remarks.