Audrey Eu speaking to RTHK's Maggie Ho
A former chairwoman of the Bar Association, Audrey Eu, has rebuffed claims by a retired top court judge that judicial reviews are being abused.
In a speech on Wednesday, Henry Litton, formerly a Court of Final Appeal judge, also criticised lawyers for their tendency towards grandstanding, and said judges should not have entertained so many cases that concern government policies instead of legal issues.
But Eu said that she thinks the system is working well, calling it "one of the most effective tools" when it comes to checking the power of government.
Litton also said that "the only way in which one can satisfy authorities that the common law is worth keeping" beyond 2047 – when "one country, two systems" is no longer guaranteed – is to make it "simple and direct".
She said if the common law system were replaced by 2047, that would probably mean the “end of rule of law as we know it and the end of Hong Kong as we know it”. She said one of the reasons for the city’s success was its use of the common law system, in which people who come to Hong Kong to invest, do business or to live had confidence.
In a speech on Wednesday, Henry Litton, formerly a Court of Final Appeal judge, also criticised lawyers for their tendency towards grandstanding, and said judges should not have entertained so many cases that concern government policies instead of legal issues.
But Eu said that she thinks the system is working well, calling it "one of the most effective tools" when it comes to checking the power of government.
Litton also said that "the only way in which one can satisfy authorities that the common law is worth keeping" beyond 2047 – when "one country, two systems" is no longer guaranteed – is to make it "simple and direct".
She said if the common law system were replaced by 2047, that would probably mean the “end of rule of law as we know it and the end of Hong Kong as we know it”. She said one of the reasons for the city’s success was its use of the common law system, in which people who come to Hong Kong to invest, do business or to live had confidence.
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1227440-20151203.htm
