There is no doubt that at present, the drug abuse among our city’s youth is serious and the government is rightly worried about the problem. It is also correct that the government should have strong determination to tackle the issue. According to the experiences of overseas countries, reducing drug misuse by young people requires education, policies and judicial support.

Having said that, there is however no excuse for the authorities to announce the six-month voluntary but random testing scheme without first having a thought through of its implementation details. It is also a big mistake if not all stakeholders are being consulted and engaged before announcing the trial, in particular, the Privacy Commissioner whose office is responsible for protecting the privacy of individuals in relation to personal data. That the Commissioner expressed his concerns in an open letter is a good example to show and confirm that the Government is lack of forethought. It is beyond argument that the urine samples collected from the students are personal data that are covered by the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance and hence within his powers and ambits.

The Commissioner does not suggest that the trial should be stalled. He just put forward questions that the authorities have not addressed before. Among them are what measures should be take to make sure that the collected data is properly stored, how long it will be retained, who is entitled to see it and whether parents have the authority to sign for their children and give consent on their behalf. One further difficult point is that even the student selected by random eventually gives consent, whether such consent is genuine and free from direct or indirect compulsion, pressure or undue influence. All these are good advices and would prefect the scheme if it goes ahead and avoid any legal dispute or even legal action in future.

In spite of the hiccups as mentioned, the whole matter could be looked at from a positive angle. That is, no matter how serious and urgent the subject matter is and how well it is intended by the government, engaging all the stakeholders in due process is inevitable. And it also demonstrates that the spirit of respect of rule of law is upheld and cherished by the whole community of Hong Kong. Even the privacy and personal data of children must be respected and cannot be ignored.

Rule of law and consequently the values of continuation of the common law system is something that has become an invaluable asset of Hong Kong. Moreover, it is also an important and perhaps fundamental element to be considered during the process of formulating a policy. As the Chief Justice Mr. Justice Andrew Li spoke at the opening ceremony of the 16th Commonwealth Law Conference in April this year, “For us in Hong Kong, the significance of comparative jurisprudence is regarded as so important to the continuation of the common law that our Basic Law contains an express provision that our courts may refer to precedents of other common law jurisdictions.”

He further said that “Comparative materials are not only helpful to courts but are useful to the executive and legislative branches when they search for and formulate solutions to the problems confronting society in modern times.” The about principle and approach should be adopted by the authorities in the recent drug test case.