Ronny Tong on NSL sublaw: security determination an executive function

The latest national security subsidiary legislation gives the Chief Executive powers to certify criminal cases as national security-related.

Speaking with TVB News, Executive Council member Ronny Tong says determining what constitutes a national security threat is traditionally an executive branch responsibility.

The recently introduced national security subsidiary legislation grants the Chief Executive the authority to issue certificates to classify certain criminal cases as national security offences. It aims to give clarity to the category of "other offences endangering national security" under the city's local security legislation.

Speaking with TVB News, Senior Counsel and Executive Council member Ronny Tong says a CE certificate is more "procedural" -- meaning it does not alter the nature of the offences but it could be applied throughout trials and appeals.

(Reporter: Could there be any checks and balances when we know that people are concerned about how the CE might be given too much power?)

RONNY TONG: "Realistically, there is no such thing as check and balance in relation to national security. National security is something which affects the nation. It is not a legal question, it's a political question because very often when you try to assess whether something is a threat to national security, it involves a lot of very difficult issues like intelligence, political relationship with other countries, political situation of your own country and various other things. Now, these are things which are not necessarily which can be openly debated in a court of law. And that is why in the common law world, if you look at the decisions of the United States and the UK over the last 30 years, you'll find that there are a whole host of cases, more than a dozen cases, which emphasise this point."

TONG: "You have to accept that the administration is not likely to abuse their power. "

CE-certified cases also extend to alternative charges faced by defendants.

RONNY TONG: "Alternative charges -- normally you're talking about less serious charges. For example, if you're being charged with dangerous driving, you might plead guilty to careless driving, which is a lesser offence. So, we would not see a case where after the Chief Executive issues a certificate, the crime becomes a different crime or becomes a more serious crime."

Last week, the Executive Council agreed with the decision to propose a uniform 2 percent pay rise for all civil servants, which does not follow the recommended salary hike from the net pay trend indicator results, leading to dissatisfaction among some government worker unions.

Ronny Tong says on the other hand, if the public has reservations about the civil service pay rise -- a large part of that is likely due to the Tai Po fire.

RONNY TONG: "We need to be fair in the sense that if somebody did something wrong, you're talking about a minute proportion of civil servants, we're not talking about the entire body of civil servants. To say that because something did go wrong and therefore all civil servants to be deprived of any raising of salary would be totally unfair. The government draws a line of 2% across the board -- it's a fairly middle-of-the-road approach."