In this Oct 27, 2022 photo, Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok meets with members of the media at Justice Place in Central, Hong Kong. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG – Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok on Monday lodged formal complaints to the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Law Society of Hong Kong against the professional misconduct of a barrister and a solicitor.

Kwok Wing-hang and Yam Kin-fung made use of their professional capacity as a barrister and a solicitor of Hong Kong to lend perceived credibility and authority to their smearing of the special administrative region’s judicial system and rule of law, and made slanderous remarks against Hong Kong judges and prosecutors, said Lam.

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As the guardian of public interest in the proper administration of justice and upholding the rule of law, I am duty-bound to defend Hong Kong's rule of law and due administration of justice.

Paul Lam, Secretary for Justice, HKSAR

“They advocated and supported foreign 'sanctions' against China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, in particular judicial officers and prosecutors of the Hong Kong SAR,” he said in a statement issued by the Department of Justice.

Their acts are respectively in breach of the code of conduct of a barrister and of a solicitor, and are most inappropriate, according to the justice chief, adding that those have undermined the judicial system and overall interests of the SAR.

“As the guardian of public interest in the proper administration of justice and upholding the rule of law, I am duty-bound to defend Hong Kong's rule of law and due administration of justice," said Lam.

He also pointed out that as members of the local legal profession, Kwok and Yam have not only made false accusations to attack Hong Kong's judicial system, but also went further.

Kwok called for undermining Hong Kong's financial system and attempted to interfere with the judges' hearing of national security cases in accordance with the law, while Yam advocated and supported "sanctions" against judges and prosecutors, and further threatened to "sanction" their family members, he said.

These acts clearly trampled on justice and harmed the interests of Hong Kong SAR residents and are absolutely unacceptable, stressed the secretary for justice.

Acts of both Kwok and Yam are suspected of seriously violating cardinal professional rules and ethics of a legal practitioner, in particular the duty to maintain the honor and dignity of their profession. Their acts bring the profession into disrepute and undermine public confidence in the city’s judicial system and rule of law, said Lam.

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The DoJ said it respects the two legal professional bodies' complaints handling mechanisms and the self-regulatory regimes, and is confident that the two bodies will handle the complaints in accordance with the law and the established procedures in a stringent, appropriate and timely manner.