Securities: Right Of Silence Before The Insider Dealing Tribunal

A recent Court of Appeal judgment in the case of Koon Wing Yee and Chan Kin Shing Sonny vs Insider Dealing Tribunal in which our firm acts for the 2^nd Appellant, has ruled that the Hong Kong Insider Dealing Tribunal’s power to summon or require an implicated person to give evidence as unconstitutional. Although the Insider Dealing Tribunal established under the Securities (Insider Dealing) Ordinance (now repealed) is now replaced by the Market Misconduct Tribunal under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, the judgment still has significant impact on cases pending under the old law.

The appeal case arose out of an inquiry by the Securities Futures Commission ("SFC") regarding the possible insider trading of shares in Easy Concepts International Holdings Ltd and Easyknit International Holdings Ltd, both listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Koon was the chairman of both the said companies and Sonny Chan was a long standing business acquaintance of Koon. When the