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FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION (ARTICLE 16)
Attorney General v South China Morning Post, High Court, Jones and Mayo JJ
This case involved contempt proceedings brought by the Attorney General against the defendant arising out of publications by the defendants of material which it was alleged may have prejudiced the trial of Mr George Tan. Among the grounds relied on by the newspaper was article 16 of the Bill of Rights (freedom of expression). The action was dismissed on 2 December 1991 as the result of an agreement between the parties; on 3 December 1991 the Court awarded the defendant costs.
Note: For a recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights, in which the Court found that certain (though not all) injunctions issued in the Spycatcher litigation in the United Kingdom were in violation of article 10 of the European Convention, see The Observer and The Guardian v United Kingdom and The Sunday Times v United Kingdom (No 2), Judgment of 26 November 1991, The Times, 27 November 1991.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION (ARTICLE 18)
In the Matter of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and In the Matter of Section 50 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance, High Court, MP No. 3297 of 1991, Jones J
This was an application for leave to apply for judicial review against two notices issued by the Securities and Futures Commission to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong which required the Stock Exchange to amend its articles of association and rules in a number of respects. One of the grounds on which the application was based was that the notices involved a violation of article 18 of the Bill of Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of association.
Leave was granted by Jones J on 31 October 1991, but the case progressed no further as the result of agreements reached between the Exchange and the Commission.
EQUALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION (ARTICLE 26)
Criminal Procedure Ordinance (cap. 221), section 84A
R v Lo Shut-fo, District Court Judge Moylan
This case involves a challenge to section 84A of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (cap. 221), on the ground that it violates the guarantee of equality in article 22 of the Bill of Rights.
Article 22 of the Bill of Rights provides:
Bill of Rights Bulletin
December 1991