Reveal Security Law In Advance: Bar Association

The Bar Association has urged the Chief Executive to make public the content of the national security law – well before it's promulgated into law by the SAR government.

In a letter to Carrie Lam, the chairman of the association Philip Dykes said sufficient time is needed for the general public and the legal profession Attorney General so they can understand the law before it comes into effect.

He said it's "essential" for lawyers to have sufficient time to study any new laws – and people need to know what conduct is forbidden - before the law is promulgated.

The Association also said it's worrying that Beijing could exercise jurisdiction over some national security cases in Hong Kong.

Earlier, the Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Deng Zhonghua, said the central government would have authority over such serious cases – but stressed that he believed they would be "extremely rare".

The association said this proposal might raise the question about whether individuals will be tried in Hong Kong courts or sent to the mainland for trial and imprisonment – which would give the national security laws supremacy over local laws safeguarding human rights.

It said it would also be unconstitutional for national security branches being set up in Hong Kong to supervise local law enforcement officers, and added that it's also worried that those national security offices might not undergo the same legal scrutiny applied to Hong Kong officers.