Judicial review challenge to district election "the three committees" nomination system rejected; judgment says insufficient proof mechanism is unfair
司法覆核區選「三會」提名違憲 郭卓堅敗訴 判詞：不足以證明機制不公
The reformed District Council election will be held on December 10. Candidates must obtain nominations from three members of each of the "the three committees", namely the District, Fire Safety and Fight Crime Committees, in order to qualify to stand. Kwok Cheuk-kin, known as the “Cheung Chau judicial review king”, sought a judicial review arguing that the requirement was unconstitutional and asking the court to quash it. The case was heard in the High Court on Thursday (30th), and Judge Ko Ho-man ruled against Kwok on Friday (1st). The judgment rejected Kwok’s arguments, stating that the rights to vote and to stand for election are not absolute. The key questions were whether the restrictions pursued a legitimate aim and were proportionate. The judge said the purpose of the "the three committees" nomination system was to ensure “patriots administering Hong Kong” and to have candidates endorsed by people familiar with district affairs, which was a legitimate aim. The judgment said that although the data showed that members of the "the three committees" tended to favour “their own people”, their personal characteristics should also be considered. As they had already handled district affairs and were important stakeholders in their districts, they were “not necessarily unsuitable”. There was also insufficient evidence in this case to show that the "the three committees" nomination system was unfair or prevented pro-democracy candidates from qualifying to stand. Overall, the judge found that the "the three committees" nomination system was not without a reasonable basis and had struck a balance between the public interest and rights protected by the Basic Law. Kwok’s application was dismissed. Outside court, Kwok said he would discuss the matter with his lawyers before deciding whether to appeal.
改制後的區議會選舉將於 12 月 10 日舉行，參選人須取得「三會」即分區、防火和撲滅罪行委員會，每個委員會各 3 名委員提名才可入閘參選。「長洲覆核王」郭卓堅提司法覆核指規定違憲，要求法庭頒令取消，案件周四（30 日）在高等法院處理，法官高浩文周五（1 日）裁定郭卓堅敗訴。 判詞反駁郭卓堅一方理據，認為投票權和被選舉權非絕對權利，關鍵在於有關限制是否有合法目的、是否合乎比例。法官提到，「三會」提名制目的是確保「愛國者治港」，參選人獲熟悉地區事務人士認可，接納屬合法目的。 判詞指，雖然數據顯示「三會」成員傾向偏袒「自己人」，但若考慮到「三會」成員的個人特徵，例如他們本身已處理地區事務，屬當區重要持分者，「不一定是不合適」。本案亦沒有足夠證據顯示，「三會」提名制構成不公，阻止民主派入閘。 總括而言，法官認為「三會」提名制，並非沒有合理基礎，亦已在社會利益及基本法保障的權利之間取得平衡，駁回郭卓堅的申請。郭卓堅庭外指，會與律師研究，再決定會否上訴。