HSU MAY CHUN, KATHERINE AND ANOTHER v. SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE AND OTHERS

HSU MAY CHUN, KATHERINE AND ANOTHER v. SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE AND OTHERS

Applying a modern flexible disclosure approach (Tweed) and balancing confidentiality and investigative prejudice against applicants' need, the court inspected the letter of request and supplementary material, concluded comprehensive disclosure or redaction was not possible without prejudicing ongoing investigations, found the affidavits and foreign letters of request provided sufficient material for the applicants to present their case, and, being bound by Apple Daily, held the informations supporting the warrants attract PII; accordingly ordered refusal of disclosure of both the Italian letter of request and the informations.

Citation
HSU MAY CHUN, KATHERINE AND ANOTHER v. SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE AND OTHERS
Parties
1st Applicant (hcal 16/2007): CHAN MEI YIU, PADDY; Applicant (hcal 16/2007; HCAL 18/2007; HCAL 19/2007): HARMONY GOLD LIMITED; Applicant (hcal 17/2007): WILTSHIRE TRADING LIMITED; 1st Applicant (hcal 18/2007): HSU MAY CHUN, KATHERINE; 2nd Applicant (hcal 19/2007): CS SECRETARIES LIMITED; 3rd Applicant (hcal 19/2007): LOONG PO MANAGMENT LIMITED; 4th Applicant (hcal 19/2007): CHAN MEI YIU, PADDY LIMITED; 1st Respondent: SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE; 2nd Respondent: COMMISSIONER OF POLICE; 3rd Respondent: LEUNG KING HUNG (Detective Senior Inspector); 4th Respondent: A MAGISTRATE SITTING AT EASTERN MAGISTRACY ON 16th JANUARY 2007
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
28 June 2007
Case Number
HCAL18/2007
Procedural Posture
Constitutional and Administrative Law Judicial Review / Interim Discovery Application in Judicial Review (decision on Disclosure Summons)
Outcome
Application for discovery of the Italian letter of request and the informations in support of the search warrants refused; costs reserved.
Legal Topics
Discovery, Mutual Legal Assistance, Search Warrants, Legal Professional Privilege, Public Interest Immunity, Confidentiality, Reasonable Grounds, External Serious Offences
Source Language
EN
Mutual Legal Assistance Criminal Procedure Administrative Law Constitutional Law Evidence Public Interest Immunity Search Warrants Discovery +4 more

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Parties

CHAN MEI YIU, PADDY

1st Applicant (hcal 16/2007)

HARMONY GOLD LIMITED

Applicant (hcal 16/2007; HCAL 18/2007; HCAL 19/2007)

WILTSHIRE TRADING LIMITED

Applicant (hcal 17/2007)

HSU MAY CHUN, KATHERINE

1st Applicant (hcal 18/2007)

CS SECRETARIES LIMITED

2nd Applicant (hcal 19/2007)

LOONG PO MANAGMENT LIMITED

3rd Applicant (hcal 19/2007)

CHAN MEI YIU, PADDY LIMITED

4th Applicant (hcal 19/2007)

SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE

1st Respondent

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

2nd Respondent

LEUNG KING HUNG (Detective Senior Inspector)

3rd Respondent

A MAGISTRATE SITTING AT EASTERN MAGISTRACY ON 16th JANUARY 2007

4th Respondent

Procedural Posture

Constitutional and Administrative Law Judicial Review / Interim Discovery Application in Judicial Review (decision on Disclosure Summons)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Italian letter of request contained misrepresentations or omissions affecting the magistrate's decision to issue search warrants
  2. 2 Whether there was material non-disclosure in the applications for the search warrants that rendered their issue erroneous or unlawful
  3. 3 Whether the terms of the search warrants were excessively wide

Ratio Decidendi

Applying a modern flexible disclosure approach (Tweed) and balancing confidentiality and investigative prejudice against applicants' need, the court inspected the letter of request and supplementary material, concluded comprehensive disclosure or redaction was not possible without prejudicing ongoing investigations, found the affidavits and foreign letters of request provided sufficient material for the applicants to present their case, and, being bound by Apple Daily, held the informations supporting the warrants attract PII; accordingly ordered refusal of disclosure of both the Italian letter of request and the informations.

Court Disposition

Application for discovery of the Italian letter of request and the informations in support of the search warrants refused; costs reserved.

Orders

  • Discovery of the Italian letter of request refused.
  • Discovery of the informations in support of the search warrants refused.