"King of judicial reviews" Kwok Cheuk-kin and social worker Hendrick Lui Chi-hang filed a judicial challenge against ding rights in 2015 as they felt the policy discriminates against non-indigenous and female indigenous villagers. The Court of Appeal, however, overturned that ruling earlier this year, a move the Court of Final Appeal has now ruled was correct. "'Lawful' in Article 40 of the Basic Law is not intended to refer to the absence of discrimination forbidden by Article 25 and 39 of the Basic Law and Article 22 of the Bill of Rights, whose application in the special context of indigenous rights is excluded by Basic Law Article 40." The top court, however, disagreed with the Court of Appeal which had pointed to a "glaring delay" in this legal challenge. The Court of Final Appeal judges said the rule that judicial reviews must be brought promptly has never been absolute.

Source: The Standard November 05, 2021 10:45 UTC