Judicial independence is well embedded in Hong Kong’s legal system, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng said today.

Ms Cheng made the statement in response to media questions about concerns over Hong Kong’s judicial independence expressed in a report by the Heritage Foundation.

The report ranked Hong Kong as the world's freest economy earlier this month, a title the city has received for 25 consecutive years.

However, its rating for Hong Kong’s judicial effectiveness was lower compared with last year.

Ms Cheng said: “It’s very important to bear in mind that judicial independence is well engraved and well embedded in Hong Kong’s legal system.

“We are ranked number one in Asia for a number of years in the World Economic Forum’s the Global Competitiveness Report.

“The arrangements for the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress to provide certain interpretations on the Basic Law have been in place since 1997 and have been working well for Hong Kong, in the light of the World Bank’s indicators showing that our ranking on the rule of law has moved from 69.9% in 1996 all the way up to 93.8% in 2017.

“We are very confident that we will continue to uphold the rule of law and provide a very good system for both businesses as well as natural persons in Hong Kong.”