DoJ updates contents of bilingual version of "Annotations of the Hong Kong National Security Law and Sedition Offences in the Crimes Ordinance"

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      The Department of Justice (DoJ) today (July 30) updated the bilingual version of the "Annotations of the Hong Kong National Security Law and Sedition Offences in the Crimes Ordinance", covering judgments of cases relating to national security up to January 31 this year and judgments of the Court of Final Appeal in two important cases in March this year. The relevant provisions of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (6 of 2024), the Safeguarding National Security (Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) Regulation and the Safeguarding National Security (Declaration of Prohibited Places) Order are also referred to. The updated contents have been uploaded to the dedicated website for public reference.

     Since the promulgation and implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL) in 2020, all judicial decisions in national security cases are made public in an open and transparent manner. After publishing the English and Chinese versions of the Annotations in December 2023 and June 2024 respectively, the DoJ has been endeavouring to update the Annotations from time to time to keep the public informed of the latest developments of the NSL and the relevant laws, thereby enhancing public confidence in the laws on safeguarding national security, as well as raising public awareness of national security.

     The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, said, "The focus of national security education is to cultivate the self-awareness of the general public in safeguarding national security. To this end, we must deepen and strengthen the public's understanding of the laws on safeguarding national security and relevant rule of law principles to enhance confidence in and recognition of the laws on safeguarding national security amongst the public. The DoJ publishes, and from time to time updates, the Annotations to provide a simple and practical tool to assist the public in comprehending the relevant laws and cases". Mr Lam expressed gratitude to Professor Albert Chen for continuing to serve as the Honorary Consultant Editor and offering valuable guidance on the work of the Annotations.

     The DoJ will continue to update the Annotations from time to time for the public to understand the latest developments of relevant laws.

Ends/Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Issued at HKT 16:00

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