| Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation | |
|---|---|
 | |
| The Chief Executive in Council | |
| Citation | Cap. 241K |
| Territorial extent | Hong Kong |
| Enacted by | The Chief Executive in Council |
| Enacted | 5 October 2019 |
| Commenced | 5 October 2019 |
| Status: Current legislation | |
| 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests |
|---|
 |
The Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation (Cap. 241K) ("PFCR") is a regulation prohibiting the wearing of face coverings in certain circumstances made by Chief Executive in Council under the Emergency Regulations Ordinance due to the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests.[1] The Court of First Instance heard applications for judicial review from 24 members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) and Leung Kwok-hung, a former LegCo member, submitted in early October.[2] On 18 November, it ruled that both the prohibition on the wearing of masks and related powers granted to the police to enforce it are inconsistent with the Hong Kong Bill of Rights, whilst leaving the question of relief to a future hearing.[3][4] On 22 November, the court declared the PFCR invalid and of no effect, but suspended the application of that declaration till 29 November 2019.[5] The government appealed the decision on 25 November to the Court of Appeal,[a][6] which partially allowed the government's appeal. The prohibition of masks at unauthorised assemblies was ruled to be constitutional, but the power to remove masks and the prohibition on wearing masks at authorised assemblies was ruled unconstitutional.[7] On appeal, the Court of Final Appeal upheld the constitutionality of the PFCR in its entirety, including the prohibition on face coverings at authorised assemblies and processions.[8] However, since the government did not appeal against Article 5, power to require removal in public place of facial covering, this part remains void. [9]
- ^ Cap. 241K
- ^ Kwok et al., HKCFI 2820/2019, at para. 10
- ^ Kwok v. CE, HKCFI 2820/2019, at para. 193
- ^ "Hong Kong court rules face mask ban unconstitutional". DW. 18 November 2019. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019.
- ^ Kwok v. CE, HKCFI 2884, at para. 193
- ^ Kwok v. CE, HKCA 192/2020, at para. 7
- ^ Lau, Chris; Siu, Jasmine; Lum, Alvin (9 April 2020). "Hong Kong mask ban legal when aimed at unauthorised protests, Court of Appeal rules in partially overturning lower court verdict". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020.
- ^ 梁國雄對終院裁決感失望 合法集會禁蒙面非常苛刻. RTHK. 2020-12-21
- ^ "禁蒙面法仍生效 戴罩逛街不违例". 东网 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 1 March 2023.
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