MSAR’s 15th anniversary | Outgoing prosecutor urges for deeper judiciary reform

Ho Chio Meng

The outgoing Prosecutor General, Ho Chio Meng, has urged that improving judicial efficiency is imperative and that the penal system needs amendment to cope with changing reality.
Speaking to the media, Ho said that the past 15 years have witnessed a large amount of criminal cases and these numbers are increasing. “It is urgent to improve judicial efficiency, otherwise citizens whose rights and interests were violated will only receive belated justice, but belated justice is not justice,” he stressed.
Ho indicated that the problem of the current judiciary system is “half the system and half the personnel.” Besides strengthening the training of judicial professionals, he suggested reforming the penal system and criminal prosecution system.
“We should modify the penal system targeting the new behaviors emerging in society, and there shouldn’t be a window period,” he said, adding that some of the practices in criminal prosecution might no longer be applicable.
The Prosecutor General also suggested revising Macau’s Portuguese originated Penal Code for it to be suitable for Chinese society. “It’s time to amend it step by step. Macau’s laws originated from Portugal, but Macau is a Chinese society. We should think more about how to adjust the laws to make it serve society,” he expressed.
On a separate note, President of the Court of Final Appeal, Sam Hou Fai, recognized that Macau’s judiciary system – that used to be a sub-judiciary district of the Portuguese legal system before the city’s handover – has been built independently, and is therefore suitable for the SAR.
“We have earned the deserved place and respect for our judicial system over the past 15 years, because justice has always been the ultimate goal in our judicial practices and reforms,” he stated.
The president explained that, “Macau is a small town where people are inclined to interpersonal connections. Thus, only through building an institutional guarantee to better regulate the judges and judicial auxiliaries, can justice be achieved.”
Last year, the three levels of courts handled a total of 19,535 cases, which is more than twice the volume of the first year after handover. Meanwhile, the use of Chinese language has become more important in courts. Sam also recognized that that Macau’s judiciary reform is deepening, and the priority of work now is to “accurately interpret and apply the Basic Law,” so as to safeguard the “one country, two systems” policy.