In Hong Kong, designated national security law judges are incumbent magistrates or judges who are further appointed by the Chief Executive to handle national security offence cases at various levels of the court system.[1] Judges without the designation by the Chief Executive are not allowed to handle these cases.[1]
According to the law, the Chief Executive should designate judges from incumbent magistrates and judges from each level of the court system to handle national security offence cases. Prior to granting the designation, the Chief Executive may consult the Chief Justice and the Committee for Safeguarding National Security. The tenure of office as a designated judge is one year.
Moreover, the Chief Executive is required by the law to not grant the designation to those who have "made any statement or behaved in any manner endangering national security". And the designation can be withdrawn if a designated judge makes any statement or acts in any way that is considered endangering national security.
List of known judges
The complete list of designated judges is not made available to the public as the government believes such revelation poses security threats to the designated judges.[2] However when individual national security cases go through various legal proceedings in open court, the press and the public find out who the presiding designated judges are. Yet, those judges who have been designated but have not yet presided in open court on any national security case are not known to the public. The exact dates of the start and the end of the designation are also unknown to the public.
Here is a table of publicly known current and former designated judges and magistrates:[2]
In May 2023, the CECC called on the US government to sanction 29 Hong Kong national security judges known to be involved in cases.[21]Hong Kong Bar Association chairman Victor Dawes said that any US sanctions against local judges could pose a "real threat" to the ability of the city to hire top-talent judges to combat a manpower shortage.[22]
^ abcAbratique, Sharon (22 June 2021). "HK court upholds decision for no jury at first national security trial". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. " Although jury trial is the conventional mode of trial in the Court of First Instance, it should not be assumed to be the only means of achieving fairness in the criminal process," according to a summary of the decision by judges Jeremy Poon, Wally Yeung and Johnson Lam.
^"唐英傑案換法援「官派律師」 新代表律師合夥人曾是政協 劉偉聰被剔出案件". Hong Kong Citizen News (眾新聞) (in Chinese). 23 November 2021. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021. 案件本周五早上9時半將在高等法院上訴庭進行指示聆訊，司法機構網頁一度標記「HC Judge 1」，到傍晚揭曉是上訴庭法官彭偉昌。
^"23歲理大男生擬認煽動他人分裂國家 涉「宣揚恐怖主義」4港大生需時申法援明年再訊". Hong Kong Citizen News (in Chinese). 28 October 2021. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. 理工大學男學生呂世瑜涉利用住所作武器庫，收藏胡椒球彈及手槍等物品，被指違反國安法。案件今（28日）在區域法院提堂，辯方透露呂擬承認煽動他人分裂國家罪，其餘的無牌管有槍械罪及管有攻擊性武器罪，則獲控方不提證供起訴。法官郭偉健押後案件至明年2月25日答辯，被告期間繼續還柙。
