New HK chief justice promises to defend rights, tiptoes around Beijing's right to intervene

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's new chief justice promised Wednesday to vigorously defend human rights in the semiautonomous southern Chinese territory but acknowledged that Beijing could still overrule him in "special situations."

While this former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, it has maintained its British-influenced political, economic and legal systems. Hong Kong courts generally have final say over local cases — but the ultimate authority on Hong Kong's constitution is the Chinese legislature's standing committee.

Asked about the prospect of intervention by Beijing, newly inaugurated chief justice Geoffrey Ma was circumspect in his first news conference.

The 54-year-old jurist said the Hong Kong government should only seek Chinese guidance on legal cases in "very special situations."

That has only happened twice. In the more controversial of the two cases, in 1999, the Hong Kong government asked for a Chinese ruling that forced the Court of Final Appeal to reverse a decision on residency rights that officials said would overwhelm the territory with mainland immigrants. The move created a huge uproar, raising fears about executive power trumping rule of law.

Asked under what circumstances the Court of Final Appeal would seek guidance from Beijing, Ma said it was hard to give specific guidelines.

"It's not possible to say yes or no, more or less likely, may or may not do. It depends on the individual case and looking at the circumstances of that case," he said.

The British-educated judge said he was "very confident" that he can protect Hong Kong's rule of law and judicial independence.

The question is not a hypothetical one. In March, the Court of Final Appeal will hear oral arguments in a case that will decide whether Congo enjoys sovereign immunity against financial claims from an American distressed fund. Beijing has sided with its African ally, and the Congo government in June asked the court to seek legal advice from China, hoping to trump a lower court that ruled it only enjoys limited immunity that does not cover its business affairs.

Ma declined comment on the case because it is pending.

He promised to defend individual rights as vigorously as his predecessor Andrew Li, who has been praised as a strong guardian of civil liberties.

"I will not be less robust. The law is there. ... Individual rights and liberties are there to be protected," Ma said.