'Exiled' Tycoon Joseph Lau Wins Bid For Top Lawyer

A fugitive tycoon's hopes of fighting the SAR government's plan for new extradition laws have been given a boost, with the High Court allowing a prominent London lawyer to represent him in a judicial review application, despite objections from the Secretary for Justice and the Hong Kong Bar Association.

Queen's Counsel Lord Pannick, described as a "formidable constitutional law advocate", will join the legal team of former Chinese Estates head Joseph Lau, who fears he could be extradited to Macau under the proposed laws to serve a prison term he was given in 2014 for bribery.

The Bar Association and the Justice Secretary had argued that allowing Pannick to get involved in the judicial review application would go against the public interest.

They said only local barristers should handle the case and the four counsels already working for Lau make for an extremely experienced and specialised team.

They also said that with the judicial review application not yet approved, Pannick's presence should not be required at a hearing next month.

But Lau's legal team disagreed, saying the issue of the courts intervening in the legislative process has already been litigated on in the UK, but not in Hong Kong, and this is why Pannick's expertise is needed.

Senior Counsel Gerard McCoy said that as the “the most formidable constitutional law advocate of his generation”, Pannick could assist the court in examining the nature and limits of the relationship between the judiciary and the Legislative Council.

McCoy also stressed the importance of this case, saying it goes to the fundamental nature of “One Country, Two Systems” – its existence and sustainability. He said these are exceptional circumstances, as the normal safeguards of scrutiny by a Legco bills committee have been bypassed when it comes to the extradition laws.

Court of First Instance judge Jeremy Poon on Thursday decided to allow the application for Pannick to join the team, but he attached the condition that the four local counsels must also be present at the application for leave hearings.

Lau had been sentenced in absentia to five years and three months in prison by a Macau court. He recently "exiled himself" from Hong Kong out of fear that he could be sent back to Macau once extradition laws are changed to allow one-off renditions on a case-by-case basis to any jurisdiction in the world.

The tycoon wants the High Court to declare that any attempt to circumvent the current prohibition of extraditions to the mainland, Taiwan or Macau, would contravene Article 38 of the Basic Law.