Ratified treaties¹ 

Possession of child pornography/ Court competence/ Sentence inadequacy/ Reference to international law to strengthen a decision based on domestic law

The Secretary for Justice applied for a review of sentences imposed by a magistrate’s court for possession of child pornography in violation of the Prevention of Child Pornography Ordinance (PCPO). He recalled that this ordinance was drafted on the basis of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child:

“As can be seen from the debates in the Legislative Council preceding the introduction of the PCPO, its roots lie in Article 34 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (which applies to Hong Kong) protecting children against all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse.”²

In turn, the Court, strengthening its decision on the basis of international law, noted that the defendants’ sentences were “manifestly inadequate”. It thus recommended that prosecution of cases involving similar facts should take place in the District Court, and not the Magistrates’ Court where the maximum permitted sentence is two years. In particular, it specified that possession of child pornography should generally warrant imprisonment and provided sentencing guidelines which classified child pornography offences and set appropriate sentences for each level, including mitigating and aggravating factors.