Hong Kong judge told to step down from human trafficking case over possible bias

In a “highly unusual” move, the Department of Justice has asked a High Court judge to voluntarily step down from a judicial review into human trafficking laws due to his possible bias.

If the judge, Mr Justice Kevin Zervos, recuses himself from the case, it may have far-reaching ramifications for the rule of law and set a precedent on how judges are assigned, legal experts said.

“It’s highly unusual and rare,” said lawyer Patricia Ho of Daly and Associates, which is representing a Pakistani man behind the judicial review.

“As far as we know, the government has never made an application for a judge to be recused from hearing a case,” Ho said. “This has serious implications for the rule of law because parties should definitely not be seen to be selecting judges. Does it mean that any judge that has been responsible for reform in an area shouldn’t hear a case in that area?”

Zervos, a High Court judge since mid-September 2013, was the director of public prosecutions from March 2011 to early September 2013.

During his time as a public prosecutor, he supported initiatives to combat human trafficking such as amendments to the prosecution code and a database to track cases of sex trafficking, enforced labour and abuse of domestic helpers. He also spoke to the media, worked with NGOs and met with diplomats to discuss what he described as “human exploitation”.

It was these actions, among others, that the Department of Justice listed as reasons why Zervos may not be suitable to hear the case, set to begin in January.