Police Can Submit New Evidence For ID Numbers Appeal

The Court of Appeal on Friday granted part of an application by the police to submit new evidence in a case relating to the force's policy on officers displaying their insignia.

In November 2020, the High Court ruled that police officers failing to display their unique identification number was a breach of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights.

A judicial review had been brought by the Hong Kong Journalists Association and three other people over police displaying only a "call sign" during the 2019 social unrest, instead of their ID numbers.

The police filed an appeal and asked to be allowed to submit new affirmations from a number of senior officers regarding the implementation of the call-sign system.

The force argued that the trial judge had said he would only deal with the merits of the system, but had in the end made a ruling on facts – including allegations that some officers failed to comply with the system.

The police said they had not expected to deal with implementation issues and it was unfair that they were not given an opportunity to respond.

The Court of Appeal has now agreed to accept the new affirmations relating to implementation issues.

“We are persuaded that to shut out such evidence would entail a decision based on ‘woefully insufficient evidence’ such that it may lead to a miscarriage in justice,” it wrote in a judgement.

But the two-judge panel has refused to accept new evidence relating to complaints being handled by the force’s internal Complaints Against Police Office, saying “it does not add anything of substance” to the police’s case.

No date has been fixed yet for the appeal hearing.