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The Government announced today (October 17) that the Chief Executive, on the recommendation of the Chief Justice, has appointed a Panel Judge under the Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance.
Under the Ordinance, Panel Judges are appointed to consider applications for authorisations of interception and Type 1 surveillance and for device retrieval warrants.
The Chief Executive has appointed Mr Justice Mohan Tarachand Bharwaney to succeed the retiring Mr Justice Azizul Rahman Suffiad as a Panel Judge under the Ordinance for a term of three years commencing October 25, 2014.
Mr Justice Bharwaney was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1978 and in Australia in 1991. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2008. He was appointed as Judge of the Court of the First Instance of the High Court in 2010.
The Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, said, "Mr Justice Azizul Rahman Suffiad has served as a Panel Judge under the Ordinance for eight years since the enactment of the Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance in 2006. We are grateful for his dedicated services and his firm commitment in handling the law enforcement agencies' applications for prescribed authorisation under the Ordinance in the past eight years. We are confident that Mr Justice Mohan Tarachand Bharwaney, together with the other two incumbent Panel Judges, Mr Justice Anthony To Kwai-fung and Mr Justice Andrew Chung On-tak, will continue to make use of their expertise and experience to ensure the effective operation of the regulatory regime under the Ordinance."
The Ordinance provides a comprehensive statutory framework for regulating the carrying out of interception and covert surveillance by designated law enforcement agencies and aims to strike a balance between protecting the rights of the community to law and order and the privacy rights of the individual.
Ends/Friday, October 17, 2014
Issued at HKT 13:00
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