A new Macau law that allows judges to hear national security cases behind closed doors and which came into effect on Tuesday could be open to potential misuse by the government, a rights group said. Macau flag. Photo: gavindeas, via Flickr. The Chinese city’s “patriots only” legislature passed the new national security law unanimously last week. It allows for judges to decide whether to hear security cases in camera and requires defence lawyers to obtain clearances before appearing in such cases.
Macau, a former Portuguese colony that was handed over to China in 1999, has its own legal system but enacted national security legislation in 2009 and widened its powers in 2023.
“Macau’s national security regulatory regime continues to broaden the powers of authorities to prosecute peaceful activities, undermine the territory’s rule of law and the independence of lawyers,” Maya Wang, the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
“What is at risk is the ability of ordinary Macau citizens to hold the government accountable for misuse of power; anyone who dares to criticise the government can be punished in the name of national security,” she said.
The Macau Lawyers Association, a nominally autonomous industry body, said in a statement the new law would serve as a “firewall” to safeguard national security interests.
However, others said it would have a chilling effect on the casino hub. Macau’s Legislative Assembly building. Photo: MacauGov. Macau-based lawyer Sergio de Almeida Correia said it “serves a political agenda”.
“Any judicial case, however innocuous, can now acquire the label of being sensitive and likely to jeopardise the security interests of the state,” he told AFP.
“What is happening is an affront to the legal profession in a modern state governed by the rule of law and to the international commitments undertaken in the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration,” he said, referring to the agreement under which Macau was returned to China.
Jorge Menezes, a Portuguese lawyer who has practised in Macau, said it “turns every Macau judge into a potential ‘national security police officer'”.
He said last week the law would apply to Au Kam San, a former Macau lawmaker who was arrested for alleged foreign collusion in July 2025.
Au has been remanded in custody for more than seven months in the first known use of the city’s national security law.
Menezes said “the closed doors rule allows courts and government officials to argue that there was evidence that no one can check”.