The Honourable Mr Justice Woo Kwok-hing was the guest speaker at the seminar - the first one of its nature Mr Justice Woo had ever conducted for a law enforcement agency in Hong Kong.

Mr Justice Woo, Vice-President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court, has been the Commissioner on Interception of Communications and Surveillance since August 2006.

In his welcoming address, Director of Crime and Security Lee Ka-chiu said: "The ICSO has been enacted for slightly over two years, governing the conduct of interception and covert surveillance by law enforcement agencies. It is indeed a very complicated Ordinance. The main purpose of today's seminar is to familiarise more with the ICSO. As a learning organisation, we seize every opportunity to learn from those who are knowledgeable in the ICSO, and strive for excellence."

The seminar consisted of two sessions. The morning session covered general issues of the ICSO and matters related to covert surveillance, while very specific issues related to interception were covered in the afternoon session.

Being the oversight authority on the ICSO, Mr Justice Woo explained not only his legal points of view but also his practical points of view on implementation of the ICSO. More importantly, he also shared his experience and knowledge of striking a fair balance among protection of privacy, prevention and detection of crime and protection of public security under the ICSO regime.

The seminar was well received by the audience.

"The seminar is very useful in enhancing my knowledge of the ICSO and answers a lot of my queries. The ICSO is really a complicated Ordinance, but after the seminar I've become more confident in dealing with ICSO application," said one of the participants.

"The seminar is very successful because it's a rare opportunity to exchange views face to face with Mr Justice Woo. I am looking forward to more such seminars in the future," said another participant.

The seminar concluded with Commissioner Tang King-shing presenting a souvenir to Mr Justice Woo. While Mr Justice Woo was admiring the souvenir, Mr Tang joked: "There isn't any covert surveillance device inside!"

The seminar on the ICSO is the first one Mr Justice Woo has ever conducted for a law enforcement agency