The Department of Justice (DoJ) today launched the Chinese version of the “Annotations of the Hong Kong National Security Law & Sedition Offences in the Crimes Ordinance”.

The annotations collate and summarise judgments concerning the National Security Law as well as sections 9 and 10 of the Crimes Ordinance. The English edition was published in December last year.

Both versions have been uploaded to the new dedicated website for public access.

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said all institutions, organisations and individuals in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have an obligation to abide by the National Security Law and local laws for safeguarding national security.

“This body of case-law helps us understand the requirements of our national security laws and how they are being applied by the courts,” he added.

He thanked Prof Albert Chen for his admirable guidance and contributions, serving as the project’s Honorary Consultant Editor.

In addition, the DoJ announced the launch today of a compendium to the “Articles & Reference Materials on the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong SAR” published in 2021.

In “Compendium 2024”, the DoJ and the Security Bureau have compiled more than 10 speeches and articles regarding the National Security Law or the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance published by officials of the central authorities and the Hong Kong SAR, experts and scholars between 2022 and April 2024.

It also contains important documents concerning the “Interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of Article 14 and Article 47 of the ‘Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’”.

Click here for the link to “Compendium 2024” (Chinese only).