1 Dec 2022法庭線#5782
Jimmy Lai retains British King’s Counsel | DOJ seeks adjournment pending interpretation; High Court to hear case again on Dec 13
壹傳媒創辦人黎智英與《蘋果日報》3 間相關公司，被控「串謀勾結外國勢力」等罪，終審法院周一（28 日）拒絕向律政司批出上訴許可，繼續批准黎聘用英國御用大律師 Tim Owen 為其抗辯。行政長官李家超當晚宣布提請全國人大常委會釋法，釐清在港沒有全面執業資格的律師或大律師，可否參與國安案件。
案件原於周四（1 日）開審，控方因應釋法，申請押後審訊 7 日，提及釋法獲中聯辦、港澳辦全力支持，有信心人大會接納請求。辯方表示不反對押後，並透露入境處擱置 Tim Owen 的工作簽證延期申請。法官聽畢控辯雙方陳詞，認為押後 7 日並不足夠，終押後案件至 12 月 13 日再訊。
Next Media founder Jimmy Lai and three companies linked to Apple Daily were charged with conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and other offences. On Monday (28th), the Court of Final Appeal refused to grant the Department of Justice leave to appeal and continued to allow Lai to retain British barrister Tim Owen KC to defend him. That evening, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced that he would request an interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress to clarify whether lawyers or barristers without full practising qualifications in Hong Kong could participate in national security cases.
The trial was originally scheduled to begin on Thursday (1st). In response to the proposed interpretation, the prosecution applied to adjourn the trial for seven days, saying that the request was fully supported by the Liaison Office and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, and that it was confident the NPC would accept it. The defence said it did not object to the adjournment and disclosed that the Immigration Department had put on hold Tim Owen’s application to extend his work visa. After hearing submissions from both sides, the judge considered seven days insufficient and adjourned the case until Dec 13 for a further hearing.
30 Nov 2022法庭線#5777
Admits Breaching National Security Law but Denied One-Third Sentence Reduction; Lui Sai Yu’s Appeal Dismissed — Judgment: Not All Mitigating Factors Apply
理大男生呂世瑜，被指 2020 年在 TG 頻道煽動港獨及售武煽暴，2022 年 4 月承認「煽動他人分裂國家」罪，原獲法庭由判囚 5 年半減刑至 3 年 8 個月。惟控方指，判刑受《國安法》罪行的最低刑期所限，情節嚴重者須「處 5 年以上」，法官胡雅文改判被告監禁 5 年。
被告不服刑罰向高等法院提上訴，上訴庭周三（30 日）駁回申請。判詞指，《國安法》的立法目的是「懲治危害國安罪行」、判刑須反映控罪嚴重性，針對「情節嚴重」的案件，5 年的最低刑期屬強制性，即使呂世瑜適時認罪，亦不能減至低於 5 年的最低刑期，否則違反立法原意。
PolyU student Lui Sai Yu was accused of using a TG channel in 2020 to incite Hong Kong independence and sell weapons to incite violence. In April 2022, he pleaded guilty to the offence of “inciting others to secede from the country”. The court originally reduced his sentence from five and a half years’ imprisonment to three years and eight months. However, the prosecution said the sentence was subject to the minimum term for offences under the National Security Law: for serious cases, the offender must be “sentenced to imprisonment for not less than five years”. Judge Amanda Jane Woodcock consequently revised the defendant’s sentence to five years’ imprisonment.
The defendant, dissatisfied with the sentence, appealed to the High Court. The Court of Appeal dismissed the application on Wednesday (30th). The judgment said the legislative purpose of the National Security Law was to “punish offences endangering national security”, and that sentencing must reflect the seriousness of the offence. For cases involving “serious circumstances”, the five-year minimum sentence was mandatory. Even though Lui Sai Yu had pleaded guilty at an early stage, the sentence could not be reduced below the five-year minimum; otherwise, it would contravene the legislative intent.
30 Nov 2022獨媒#5778
Court of Appeal sets new sentencing framework for national security cases, with mandatory minimum terms for serious cases
25歲理大男學生呂世瑜前年被發現在網上出售胡椒槍及在 Telegram 發布港獨文宣，他承認《國安法》的「煽動他人分裂國家」罪，認罪後刑期扣減至3年8個月，惟控方指出「案情嚴重」類別最低刑期為5年，法官最後改判囚5年。理大生認為自己未獲認罪三分一扣減，向高院提出刑期上訴。上訴庭今日頒下判詞，駁回呂世瑜所有上訴理據，更定出量刑新框架，若案件被裁定「情節嚴重」，判刑將設有下限，本來普通法案例下「認罪三分一刑期扣減」的原則和計法將不適用。
A 25-year-old male student at PolyU, Lui Sai Yu, was found two years ago to have sold pepper guns online and posted Hong Kong independence propaganda on Telegram. He pleaded guilty to the National Security Law offence of “inciting others to secede from the country” and, after a sentence reduction for his guilty plea, was initially sentenced to three years and eight months’ imprisonment. The prosecution pointed out that the minimum sentence for cases classified as “serious” was five years, and the judge ultimately sentenced him to five years in prison. The PolyU student considered that he had not received a one-third reduction for pleading guilty and lodged a sentence appeal with the High Court. In a judgment handed down today, the Court of Appeal rejected all of Lui Sai Yu’s grounds of appeal and set out a new sentencing framework: where a case is determined to be “serious”, a minimum sentence will apply, and the common-law principle and method of calculating a one-third sentence reduction for a guilty plea will not apply.
28 Nov 2022獨媒#5770
CFA judgment: Hiring overseas barristers in national security cases is of “obvious importance”, but issue was not raised through “regular channels”
黎智英國安案件已定於今周四（12月1日）開審，他的抗辯團隊申請英國御用大律師 Tim Owen 加入，但被律政司反對。即使上訴庭已駁回申請，但律政司仍上訴至終審法院。終院今午頒下判詞，駁回律政司的申請，意味黎智英可以聘請 Tim Owen 抗辯。
不過終院在判詞指出，律政司提出的嶄新論點有其「明顯重要性」，但未能通過案例設下的門欖，即從未在下級法院提及或探討過，律政司未能確立上訴許可的基礎。
Jimmy Lai’s national security case is scheduled to go to trial this Thursday (December 1). His defence team applied for British King’s Counsel Tim Owen to join the team, but the application was opposed by the Secretary for Justice. Although the Court of Appeal had rejected the application, the Secretary for Justice appealed to the Court of Final Appeal. The CFA handed down its judgment this afternoon, dismissing the Secretary for Justice’s application, meaning that Lai can hire Owen to represent him.
28 Nov 2022法庭線#5772
Jimmy Lai Allowed to Instruct British King’s Counsel; DOJ’s Application for Leave to Appeal Rejected
壹傳媒創辦人黎智英與《蘋果日報》3 間相關公司，被控「串謀勾結外國勢力」等罪，案件排期 12 月 1 日開審。黎早前獲准聘用英國御用大律師 Tim Owen 抗辯，律政司上訴被駁回，上周一（21 日）亦被上訴庭拒絕批出上訴至終審法院的許可。律政司直接向終審法院再申請上訴許可，終院周一（28 日）頒下判詞，駁回申請。
Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai and three companies linked to Apple Daily have been charged with offences including conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. The case is scheduled to go to trial on 1 December. Lai was earlier allowed to instruct British King’s Counsel Tim Owen to defend him. The Department of Justice’s appeal was rejected, and on Monday (21st) the Court of Appeal also refused to grant leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal. The Department of Justice then applied directly to the Court of Final Appeal for leave to appeal. On Monday (28th), the Court of Final Appeal handed down its judgment rejecting the application.
26 Nov 2022獨媒#5766
Tam Yiu-chung: National Security Law drafted in Chinese; foreigners should not participate
壹傳媒創辦人黎智英被控「串謀勾結外國勢力」等罪，早前獲高院批准英國御用大律師 Timothy Wynn Owen 代表辯護，惟律政司上訴遭拒，最後向終審法院申請上訴許可，將於周一（28日）頒下判決。全國人大代表譚耀宗指，聘請外國大律師有違《港區國安法》立法原意，並涉及國家機密及外部勢力的問題，而且法例以中文起草，英文版本僅用來參考
Lai Chee-ying, founder of Next Digital, has been charged with offences including “conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or with external elements”. The High Court earlier approved British King’s Counsel Timothy Wynn Owen to represent him in his defence, but the Department of Justice’s appeal was rejected. The department subsequently applied to the Court of Final Appeal for leave to appeal, with a ruling due on Monday (the 28th). National People’s Congress deputy Tam Yiu-chung said that hiring a foreign barrister contravened the legislative intent of the Hong Kong National Security Law and involved issues concerning state secrets and external forces. He also said the law was drafted in Chinese, while the English version was for reference only.
24 Nov 2022獨媒#5756
Leung Mei-fan Says Foreign Lawyers Should Not Handle Hong Kong National Security Law Cases, Does Not Rule Out NPCSC Interpretation
壹傳媒集團創辦人黎智英被控「串謀勾結外國勢力」等罪，高院早前批准英國御用大律師Timothy Wynn Owen 加入黎智英辯護團隊。律政司不服上訴但遭上訴庭駁回，日前直接向終審法院提出上訴許可。基本法委員會委員梁美芬認為，《港區國安法》案件不宜有外籍法官及律師參與，重申全國人大常委會擁有法律最終解釋權，指「如有香港覺得唔清晰的地方」，不排除就此釋法。
Next Digital group founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has been charged with offences including conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. The High Court earlier approved the participation of British King’s Counsel Timothy Wynn Owen in Lai’s defence team. The Department of Justice appealed against the decision but was rejected by the Court of Appeal, and has recently applied directly to the Court of Final Appeal for leave to appeal. Basic Law Committee member Leung Mei-fan said foreign judges and lawyers should not participate in Hong Kong National Security Law cases. She reiterated that the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress has the final power of interpretation of the law, and said that “if there are areas that Hong Kong finds unclear”, she did not rule out an interpretation of the law on the matter.
23 Nov 2022法庭線#5752
18-year-old pleads guilty to four charges including sedition and insulting national anthem and flag after court rules conduct a “continuing offence”
一名 18 歲男子被指在「連登」、YouTube 及 Discord 平台，發布煽動陳述、相片及圖片，被控煽動、侮辱國歌國旗等 4 罪。辯方早前指煽動罪所涉的 29 則帖文中，僅 3 則帖文在被捕前半年內發布，而部分並非在香港發出，爭議檢控期限和域外法律效力。
《國安法》指定法官、總裁判官蘇惠德周三（23 日）裁定，被告涉案行為屬「持續犯罪」，故控罪沒超檢控期限，又指構成煽動的活動是在香港發生，故法院有權處理案件。辯方隨即要求答辯，被告承認全部 4 項控罪。
An 18-year-old man was accused of posting seditious statements, photographs and images on LIHKG, YouTube and Discord, and was charged with four offences including sedition and insulting the national anthem and national flag. The defence had earlier argued that only three of the 29 posts covered by the sedition charge had been published within six months before his arrest, and that some had not been posted in Hong Kong, raising issues over the prosecution time limit and the extraterritorial application of the law.
So Wai-dit, a designated judge under the National Security Law and Chief Magistrate, ruled on Wednesday (23rd) that the defendant’s alleged conduct constituted a “continuing offence”, and that the charges had therefore not exceeded the prosecution time limit. He also said the activities constituting sedition had taken place in Hong Kong, giving the court jurisdiction to handle the case. The defence then requested that the defendant enter a plea, and he admitted all four charges.
22 Nov 2022法庭線#5745
Apple Daily executives case｜Cheung Kim-hung, Chan Pui-man and four others plead guilty; prosecution says Jimmy Lai bail reports guided public sympathy
《蘋果日報》及壹傳媒 6 名前高層，被控「串謀勾結外國或者境外勢力危害國家安全罪」，還押至今近 1 年半，周二（22 日）在高等法院認罪，另一項「串謀發布煽動刊物罪」則存檔法庭。
Six former senior executives of Apple Daily and Next Digital, charged with conspiracy to collude with foreign or external forces to endanger national security, pleaded guilty at the High Court on Tuesday (22) after being remanded for nearly a year and a half. A further charge of conspiracy to publish seditious publications was left on the court file.
22 Nov 2022法庭線#5746
Apple Daily executives case | Prosecution says Jimmy Lai began promoting political views during Occupy Central and opened Twitter to interact with “external forces”
《蘋果日報》及壹傳媒 6 名前高層，被控「串謀勾結外國或者境外勢力危害國家安全罪」，還押至今近 1 年半，周二（22 日）在高等法院認罪，另一項「串謀發布煽動刊物罪」則存檔法庭。
Six former senior executives of Apple Daily and Next Digital, charged with conspiracy to collude with foreign or external forces to endanger national security, pleaded guilty at the High Court on Tuesday (22nd) after being remanded in custody for nearly a year and a half. Another charge of conspiracy to publish seditious publications was left on the court file.
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
