-7
—
US District Court decision will be appealed
In response to media reports today (Wednesday) on a decision by a US District Court to grant Mr Jerry Lui Kin-hong a writ of habeas corpus. a Legal Department spokesman issued the following statement:
"We will be mounting an urgent appeal against this decision and we will move on this as quickly as possible. In the meantime we will be applying for a stay of the order of release and will be applying for Mr Lui's further detention pending the hearing of our appeal.
"We are still awaiting the full written judgment but, based on the newspaper reports, we are amazed that the District Judge seems to have ignored completely the guarantees contained in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law about the continuation of Hong Kong's Common Law system and the rule of law, as part of the separate system for Hong Kong under the "One country, two systems" concept.
"We would point out that District Judge Tauro's decision flies in the face of a number of other recent extradition decisions from other jurisdictions where the courts had no problem about the ordering of the return to Hong Kong of those alleged to have committed serious crimes here. For example, in a recent extradition case, the Canadian courts rejected arguments similar to those put forward by Mr Lui.
"We will be stressing in the appeal that Hong Kong will continue to enjoy a legal system separate from that of China after 1 July 1997 as guaranteed in the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law and with all the protections that afforded to defendants in criminal cases.
"Hong Kong has signed a number of extradition agreements with other jurisdictions that will last beyond 1 July 1997. The Legislative Council is currently studying a Fugitive Offenders Bill which, when enacted, will give legal force in Hong Kong to those agreements. We look forward to the early enactment of that Bill which will play a vital part in our continuing extradition arrangements.'
*
End