HKSAR V LAI CHEE YING (黎智英)

[2020] HKCFA 45 Court of Final Appeal 31 December 2020 • FAMP1/2020 • 16 min read

5 cases cited (0 HK, 5 foreign) Cited by 4 cases

Outcome

Leave to appeal granted

leave to appeal is granted, it is the Court (usually acting through the Appeal Committee) that becomes seized of issues concerning bail so that applications for bail or detention pending determination of the appeal ought in principle to be dealt with by the Court and not the lower tribunal.

Source: [2020] HKCFA 45, Court of Final Appeal, decided 31 December 2020. Read directly from the judgment.

Judges (3)

Cheung Coram Ma Coram Ribeiro Coram

Counsel (9)

Department of Justice Firm Robertsons Firm Anthony Chau Counsel Applicant Ernie Tung Counsel Respondent Ivan Cheung Counsel Applicant Jeffrey Tam Counsel Respondent Lee Siu Him Counsel Respondent Peter Duncan Counsel Respondent Ronny Leung Counsel Respondent

Parties (2)

HKSAR Applicant Lai Chee Ying Respondent

Case Significance

HKSAR v Lai Chee Ying (黎智英) [2020] HKCFA 45 is a Court of Final Appeal decision dated 31 December 2020, engaging the Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (s 31(b)), the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (s 9J), the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, and the Rules of the High Court. The category recorded for the decision is leave to appeal granted, and the court's holding was that leave to appeal is granted, it is the Court (usually acting through the Appeal Committee) that becomes seized of issues concerning bail so that applications for bail or detention pending determination of the appeal ought in principle to be dealt with by the Court and not the lower tribunal. The decision was followed by a further Court of Final Appeal judgment in the same matter, HKSAR v. Lai Chee Ying (黎智英) [2021] HKCFA 3, and has since been cited in other criminal appeals before the Court of Final Appeal, including HKSAR v. Milne John [2022] HKCFA 22 and HKSAR v. Yee Wenjye (also known as Yu Wenjie) (alias Eric Yee) (and 1 other) [2022] HKCFA 6, as well as HKSAR v. Chan Fuk Yu [2024] HKCFI 1376 before the Court of First Instance.

Summary

The prosecution applied for leave to appeal against a High Court judge's decision granting bail to Lai Chee Ying, who was charged with fraud and collusion with foreign forces under the National Security Law. The Court considered the bail provisions under the NSL, specifically Article 42(2) which creates a presumption against bail for NSL offences. Leave to appeal was granted and the bail order was stayed.

What did the Court of Final Appeal hold in HKSAR v Lai Chee Ying (黎智英) [2020] HKCFA 45?

The court held that once leave to appeal is granted, it is the Court, usually through the Appeal Committee, that becomes seized of bail issues, so that bail or detention applications pending the appeal should be dealt with by the Court, not the lower tribunal.

Which provisions were considered in HKSAR v Lai Chee Ying (黎智英) [2020] HKCFA 45?

The decision considered s 31(b) of the Court of Final Appeal Ordinance, s 9J of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, and the Rules of the High Court, in a bail-related leave application decided 31 December 2020.

Statutes Cited

Court of Final Appeal Ordinance

s 31(b)

Criminal Procedure Ordinance

s 9J

Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap 383)

Rules of the High Court (Cap 4A)

Cases Cited (5)

HK (5)

(2003) 6 HKCFAR 222 (2009) 12 HKCFAR 960 (2019) 22 HKCFAR 51 [2002] 2 HKLRD 147 [2020] HKCFI 3161

Cited By (4)

HKSAR V. YEE WENJYE (ALSO KNOWN AS YU WENJIE) (ALIAS ERIC YEE) (and 1 other)

[2021] HKCFA 3

HKSAR V. LAI CHEE YING (黎智英)

Citation influence

HKLII records this judgment as cited by 4 later judgments. This counts every later Hong Kong judgment that references this case, which is broader than the resolved citations listed above.

[2021] HKCFA 3 Court of Final Appeal

9 February 2021

[2022] HKCFA 22 Court of Final Appeal

14 November 2022

[2022] HKCFA 6 Court of Final Appeal

11 March 2022

[2024] HKCFI 1376 Court of First Instance

11 June 2024