Hong Kong curbs foreign lawyers' participation in state security trials

HONG KONG -- Legislative amendments passed Wednesday will allow Hong Kong's leader to bar foreign lawyers from taking up national security cases, the latest in a series of moves that could undermine the city's judicial independence.

The changes to the Legal Practitioner Ordinance will require courts to obtain the chief executive's approval before a foreign lawyer can represent a client in a national security case. The chief executive will have the authority to refuse a foreign lawyer, likely on the grounds that the counsel's participation would be "contrary to the interests of national security."