Hong Kong lawmaker questions plan to require public registration to access remote court hearings
Hong Kong Free Press
A representative from a Hong Kong solicitors’ group and a lawmaker have questioned the Judiciary’s plan to ask members of the public to register in advance if they wish to observe court cases remotely.
The suggestion was part of the plan to introduce remote hearings for court proceedings. Other plans including outlawing “unauthorised recording or publication of court hearings,” with offenders risking a fine of HK$100,000 and five years imprisonment.
In a Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting on Wednesday, Steven Hung from the Law Society questioned the Judiciary’s proposed registration requirement.
“Currently, open hearings are public, anyone can just walk in and sit down, I don’t understand why remote open hearings require registration,” said Hung, the chairperson of the criminal law and procedure committee of the Law Society.
Pro-establishment lawmaker and solicitor Doreen Kong also said in the same meeting that the suggested measure might not fit the open court principle, and asked whether there would be room for adjustment.
At present, members of the public can obtain a ticket for a seat at the public gallery for open court hearings. While the number of seats is limited depending on the size of the courtroom, no registration is required.
Esther Leung from the Judiciary said in response that the registration requirement would only be used in cases where attendees could not get to the court, such as during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The court would need the emails of those who wished to remotely attend a hearing to send a link to allow them to access the broadcast, said Leung.
“There is a technical necessity, it does not mean it will become the norm,” she added.
Under the current proposal, remote hearings would not be used for the defendant’s first appearance in court, their plea, verdict, or sentencing hearings.
The Law Society, which regulates the city’s solicitors, said in a statement on Wednesday night that it welcomed the Judiciary’s plan to not adopt remote hearing for criminal trials.
The society added that it welcomed using remote hearings for civil proceedings, and urged the Judiciary to speed up the legislation process and consider providing financial and technical support to the legal sector in adopting remote hearing.
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