Procedure To Hire Foreign Lawyers Needs Clarity: Tong

Executive councillor and barrister Ronny Tong has said local laws should be amended to clearly spell out the procedure needed to hire overseas lawyers for national security cases.

Beijing issued an interpretation last week, saying Hong Kong courts need approval from the Chief Executive, or from the committee that safeguards national security, before allowing overseas lawyers to work on such cases.

Tong said it wasn't a major issue as there were only a "miniscule" amount of national security cases here. But he said he didn't want to see all overseas lawyers banned from an international city such as Hong Kong, so local laws should clearly spell out the procedure involved.

"There's a need to put a procedural mechanism into our law by amendment, to lay down the proper procedure to follow," he said. "For example, if someone were to apply to engage a London counsel, what you need to do at the moment is to seek consent from the Secretary for Justice, the Bar Association and the Law Society. Perhaps an amendment should include on that list the national security committee, and when the committee is being consulted it can consider whether a lawyer coming here to take part in a trial may or may not pose a risk to national security."

Asked whether a blanket should be introduced on foreign lawyers instead, Tong responded: "Hong Kong enjoys the high reputation of a world finance centre with rule of law, and people expect people of different nationalities to participate in Hong Kong. The fact that foreign lawyers can come here is parrt of our system -- One Country, Two Systems -- and we don't expect to see dramatic changes with the stroke of a pen."