On 14 August 2026, the Hong Kong Bar Association took the highly unusual step of filing a judicial review to challenge and overturn a ruling made by its own Barristers Disciplinary Tribunal. The tribunal had previously ruled in June 2026 that former pro-democracy lawmaker and veteran barrister Margaret Ng was clear of professional misconduct.
The original complaint stemmed from Ng’s 2021 conviction for participating in an unauthorised assembly during the 2019 protests (the 18 August Victoria Park rally). The tribunal’s majority concluded that Ng’s participation in the peaceful, albeit unauthorised, assembly was not so “morally culpable, disgraceful or dishonourable” as to bring the legal profession into disrepute. However, the Bar Council has now asked the High Court to intervene, arguing that the tribunal committed a “fundamental legal error” and insisting that her conviction inherently constituted misconduct, even though Ng officially retired from legal practice in 2025.