Hong Kong lawyers create court database of protest-related cases in bid to safeguard #RuleofLaw
#CompendiumProject #Court #Justice #Truth
Source: HKFP; #Oct3
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#CompendiumProject #Court #Justice #Truth
Source: HKFP; #Oct3
Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
Hong Kong lawyers create court database of protest-related cases in bid to safeguard #RuleofLaw
A group of young Hong Kong lawyers have created a database of magistrates’ rulings in protest-related cases in a bid to safeguard the rule of law, amid unprecedented public interest in court hearings after thousands were prosecuted over the 2019 unrest.
The #CompendiumProject – launched in June – has compiled information on more than 500 protest-related cases that were handled by all seven magistrates’ courts. From the name of the magistrate to the reasons for the verdict and sentence, the platform seeks to provide written records of lower court hearings that are rarely made public by the authorities.
The Legal Reference System managed by Hong Kong’s judiciary seldom publishes written judgements by magistrates.
One of the project consultants, barrister Chris Ng, said such a practice had made it difficult for lawyers to check the legal principles and sentencing guidelines adopted by different magistrates, and whether their rulings in cases of a similar nature were consistent.
“Lawyers have always been kept in the dark,” he said.
As at the end of July, the city’s magistrates’ courts were processing 150 protest-related cases, while 1,101 had been completed.
“Following the social movement, the whole sentencing landscape has changed. To put it simply, the sentences became heavier,” another junior barrister involved in the project added.
The project’s low-profile adviser #MargaretNg, said in her new book about the rule of law that Hongkongers have developed an “unprecedented” interest in judicial procedures.
“Self-initiated” citizens who record court proceedings, and the compendium project, were both proof that the rule of law would not be “taken away” easily, she said.
#CompendiumProject #Court #Justice #Truth
Source: HKFP; #Oct3
https://hongkongfp.com/2021/10/03/hong-kong-lawyers-create-court-database-of-protest-related-cases-in-bid-to-safeguard-rule-of-law/
A group of young Hong Kong lawyers have created a database of magistrates’ rulings in protest-related cases in a bid to safeguard the rule of law, amid unprecedented public interest in court hearings after thousands were prosecuted over the 2019 unrest.
The #CompendiumProject – launched in June – has compiled information on more than 500 protest-related cases that were handled by all seven magistrates’ courts. From the name of the magistrate to the reasons for the verdict and sentence, the platform seeks to provide written records of lower court hearings that are rarely made public by the authorities.
The Legal Reference System managed by Hong Kong’s judiciary seldom publishes written judgements by magistrates.
One of the project consultants, barrister Chris Ng, said such a practice had made it difficult for lawyers to check the legal principles and sentencing guidelines adopted by different magistrates, and whether their rulings in cases of a similar nature were consistent.
“Lawyers have always been kept in the dark,” he said.
As at the end of July, the city’s magistrates’ courts were processing 150 protest-related cases, while 1,101 had been completed.
“Following the social movement, the whole sentencing landscape has changed. To put it simply, the sentences became heavier,” another junior barrister involved in the project added.
The project’s low-profile adviser #MargaretNg, said in her new book about the rule of law that Hongkongers have developed an “unprecedented” interest in judicial procedures.
“Self-initiated” citizens who record court proceedings, and the compendium project, were both proof that the rule of law would not be “taken away” easily, she said.
#CompendiumProject #Court #Justice #Truth
Source: HKFP; #Oct3
https://hongkongfp.com/2021/10/03/hong-kong-lawyers-create-court-database-of-protest-related-cases-in-bid-to-safeguard-rule-of-law/
Hong Kong Free Press HKFP
Hong Kong lawyers create court database of protest-related cases in bid to safeguard rule of law
A group of young Hong Kong lawyers have created a database of magistrates’ rulings in protest-related cases in a bid to safeguard the rule of law, amid unprecedented public interest in court …