Recent remarks of Brenda Hale, a former nonpermanent judge of Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal (CFA), regarding the Hong Kong SAR National Security Law (NSL), as well as her comments on the city’s rule of law and judicial system, do not tally with the facts, a spokesperson for the special administrative region government said on Friday.

In a recent interview with UK legal journal Constitutional Studies, Hale, who served as president of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2017 until her retirement in 2020, said the reason she did not seek to extend her term as a CFA nonpermanent judge in 2021 was the implementation of the NSL, saying the NSL — enacted on June 30, 2020 — has overridden the Basic Law of Hong Kong.

In a statement issued on Friday afternoon, a government spokesperson said Hale was appointed as a CFA nonpermanent judge in 2018, yet she never participated in the adjudication of any cases in that role. Hale said she left the position in June 2021 for “private reasons” — an account that differs from her earlier statements, the spokesperson said.

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The spokesperson said that any claims suggesting the NSL overrides the Basic Law are erroneous as the Basic Law was implemented to fill Hong Kong’s national security loopholes, and to protect the rights and freedoms as outlined in the law.

The Basic Law stipulates that the Hong Kong SAR enjoys independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication, the spokesperson said, adding that Hong Kong courts conduct trials independently and are not subject to any interference.

The five-year practice of the NSL has proved that the court has impartially processed national security cases, the spokesperson said.

The interpretation of the NSL made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in December 2022 clarifies the meaning of the relevant legal provisions and the basis for applying the law, which does not undermine the city’s independent judicial power and the power of final adjudication as guaranteed by the Basic Law, and which is fully in accordance with “one country, two systems”, the spokesperson said.

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The Hong Kong CFA currently has six nonpermanent judges, from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com