CFA ruled differential hair-cutting requirement for male and female prisoners constitutes discrimination
The Court of Final Appeal ruled that the Correctional Service Department (“CSD”)’s differential hair-cutting requirement for male and female inmates prescribed in Standing Order 41-05 issued by the Commissioner of Correctional Services constitutes discrimination and violates the Sex Discrimination Ordinance as well as the Basic Law.
While CSD argued there was a need to give less prominence to individuality, Ma CJ in his judgment rule that: “It is difficult to accept, without a proper explanation, why individual choices should be denied to male prisoners but not female ones, and what this selective denial of choices has to do with a de-emphasis on individuality anyway.”
Ho Tse Wai & Partner represents the Appellant.
Citiation: [2020] HKCFA 37
Judgment can be found here: https://legalref.judiciary.hk/lrs/common/ju/ju_frame.jsp?DIS=132118&currpage=T
Press Summary: https://legalref.judiciary.hk/doc/judg/html/vetted/other/en/2019/FACV000008_2019_files/FACV000008_2019ES.htm
