Chow Hang-tung’s June 4 incitement-to-assembly case reaches final appeal; DOJ says allowing challenge to police “ban” in trial could undermine rule of law
鄒幸彤六四煽惑集結案終極上訴 律政司：若容審訊中爭議警「禁令」合法性或削法治
The Court of Final Appeal heard the Department of Justice’s final appeal on Wednesday (22) in Chow Hang-tung’s 2021 June 4 incitement-to-assembly case. Chow, who is remanded in custody in the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China’s national security case, was brought to the Court of Final Appeal from prison. Wearing a dark green long-sleeved shirt, with her hair tied in a ponytail and black-framed glasses, she repeatedly grinned broadly at friends and relatives in the public gallery. The five judges reserved judgment after hearing submissions from both sides. The Department of Justice argued that defendants should not be allowed to challenge the legality of a police-issued assembly “ban” during a criminal trial, as this could lead the public to mistakenly believe that it need not be obeyed and thereby weaken the rule of law. It also argued that anyone dissatisfied with the ban should seek judicial review. Moreover, given the pandemic situation at the time, the police had “reasonably” prohibited large-scale gatherings to protect public safety. Chow’s side countered that defendants should have the right to dispute the legality of the “ban” during a criminal trial. Judicial review, it said, involved substantial expenditure and resources; a defendant might have to apply for legal aid, which could also be refused. The police should instead have fulfilled their “positive duty” under the Public Order Ordinance by proposing conditions under which an assembly could be held, such as a limit on attendance, to reduce the risk of infection, rather than imposing an outright ban. Before the hearing began, about 10 to 20 middle-aged people queued outside the Court of Final Appeal to attend. After the hearing, reporters asked three of them which case they had attended and the defendant’s name. They hurried away without responding.
鄒幸彤 2021 年六四煽惑集結案，終審法院周三（22 日）審理律政司終極上訴。正因支聯會國安案還押的鄒幸彤，由懲教押送至終院，她身穿墨綠色長袖恤衫、束馬尾，戴黑框眼鏡，不時向公眾席親友咧嘴燦笑。5 法官聽畢雙方陳詞後，擇日頒下判詞。 律政司一方指，被告在刑事審訊中，不應獲准挑戰由警方發出集會「禁令」的合法性，否則會令公眾誤以為毋須遵守，導致削弱法治；又指若有不服應提司法覆核。再者，根據當時疫情，警方是「合理地」禁止舉行大型集會，保障公眾安全。 鄒幸彤一方反駁，被告應有權在刑事審訊中爭議「禁令」的合法性，而司法覆核又牽涉大量支出及資源，被告或需申請法援，亦可能被拒等；而警方應履行《公安條例》下的「積極責任」，提出容許集會的條件，如設人數限制等，減低傳染風險，而非斷言禁止。 開庭前，約 10 至 20 名中年人在終院外輪候旁聽。散庭後，記者問其中 3 人旁聽甚麼案件、被告名字等，他們急步離開，沒有回應。