Article 23: New powers proposed for police, courts to limit national security detainees’ access to lawyers
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s homegrown security law may give authorities new powers to restrict those arrested under the legislation from consulting specific lawyers or barring them from accessing lawyers within their initial 48-hour detention period.
According to a draft of the Safeguarding National Security Bill published on Friday morning, police may apply for a court warrant to stop a suspect from consulting a lawyer if it is believed that their doing so “will endanger national security or cause bodily harm to any person. “
For those under investigation but not under arrest, a court warrant could be issued to bar them from meeting any lawyers during the initial 48-hour detention period after an arrest.
Such a warrant could only be granted if a magistrate thought there were “reasonable grounds to suspect that the person has committed the offence” or “the person is about to be arrested. “
The proposed bill stipulates that after the warrant expires and the authorities no longer have reasonable grounds, the limits on allowing suspects to access lawyers should immediately be lifted.
According to the draft bill, anyone “reasonably suspected of having committed an offence endangering national security” can be restricted from meeting specific lawyers by court-issued warrant.
Authorities have also sought to extend the period a suspect can be held without charge to 14 days, up from 48 hours.
Victor Dawes, chair of the Hong Kong Bar Association, told the press last month that the Basic Law stipulates that a defendant has the right to seek legal advice and to choose their own lawyer.
“Under Article 35 of the Basic Law, there is the right to confidential legal advice, and there is also a right to choose [a] lawyer that you so wish. So, it is really important to balance the two… particular rights and interests,” Dawes said.
Swift enactment
The Legislative Council convened a special meeting on Friday morning for the first reading of the Safeguarding National Security Bill – known locally as Article 23.
The introduction of the bill came just nine days after the end of a one-month public consultation period, which prompted more than 13,000 submissions, 97 per cent of which expressed support for the new security law, according to the government.
China’s Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang urged a swift enactment of legislation under Article 23 of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution on Thursday, as he held talks with the city’s deputies to the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature.
Article 23 of the Basic Law stipulates that the government shall enact laws on its own to prohibit acts of treason, secession, sedition and subversion against Beijing. Its legislation failed in 2003 following mass protests and it remained taboo until after the onset of the separate, Beijing-imposed security law in 2020. Pro-democracy advocates fear it could have a negative effect on civil liberties but the authorities say there is a constitutional duty to ratify it.
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