Government announces appointment of Panel Judge under Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance
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Under the Ordinance, the Chief Executive shall, on the recommendation of the Chief Justice, appoint three to six eligible judges as Panel Judges to consider applications for authorisations of interception and Type 1 surveillance and for device retrieval warrants. Under the Ordinance, "eligible judge" means a judge of the Court of First Instance.
The Chief Executive has appointed Madam Justice Wong to succeed Mr Justice Andrew Chung On-tak, who will retire from the Court of First Instance, as a Panel Judge under the Ordinance for a term of three years commencing September 4, 2019.
Madam Justice Wong was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1988 and was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor in Singapore in 1995. She was appointed as Senior Counsel in 2006. She sat as Temporary Deputy Registrar, High Court, for periods in 2002 and 2003, and served as Deputy Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court for periods in 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2013. She was appointed as Recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2013, and was appointed as Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2017.
The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, said, "Mr Justice Andrew Chung On-tak has been serving as a Panel Judge since the inception of the Ordinance in 2006. I am grateful for his dedication and commitment in handling law enforcement agencies' applications for prescribed authorisations under the Ordinance during the past 13 years. I am confident that Madam Justice Lisa Wong Kwok-ying, together with the other two incumbent Panel Judges, Mr Justice Mohan Tarachand Bharwaney and Mr Justice Barnabas Fung Wah, will continue to draw on 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 conduct of interception and covert surveillance by law enforcement agencies, and aims to strike a balance between maintaining law and order and protecting the privacy rights of individuals.
Ends/Friday, August 30, 2019
Issued at HKT 11:00
Issued at HKT 11:00
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