Macau passed a bill on Thursday that would allow judges to hear national security cases behind closed doors and require defense lawyers to obtain permission before appearing in such cases.
The national security bill supports the Macau Committee for the Defense of National Security (CDSE), which was established in 2018 to support the Chinese city’s leader on security matters.
Macau, a former Portuguese territory ceded to China in 1999, has its own legal system based largely on Portuguese law, but passed national security legislation in 2009 and expanded its powers in 2023.
Under the bill passed Thursday, defense attorneys involved in national security cases would be required to obtain clearance from national security officials because of the possibility that some case information could be classified.
Macau’s Legislative Assembly said the bill was passed unanimously.
The bill “further strengthens the high-level framework for safeguarding national security”, the city’s government said in a statement, and demonstrates “the successful implementation of the principle of ‘patriots governing Macau'”.
Some analysts have warned that the regulation could harm the functioning of government departments and the rights guaranteed by Macau’s mini-constitution.
Macau authorities former lawmaker Au Kam San arrested in July 2025 for suspected foreign cooperation in the first known use of national security law in the Chinese casino hub.
