Chief Justice Andrew Cheung said on Monday that defendants in national security cases are treated fairly and their rights are respected in accordance with the law.

In a speech marking the start of the Legal Year, Cheung said the courts won't yield to any pressure to convict or acquit defendants.

The top judge said he thinks the work of the judiciary has often been viewed "through the prism of the National Security Law" over the past few years.

"This way of looking at things necessarily results in a very narrow or even distorted picture of the breadth and width of our judicial work, and more generally, the state of the rule of law and judicial independence in Hong Kong," he said.

"But whatever may be said or written about our legal system, of this the community can be sure: our courts and our judges will continue to discharge their constitutional duty to administer justice fairly and efficiently, without fear or favour, self-interest or deceit."

Cheung said judges must not be threatened with sanctions, or be subject to reprisals for simply discharging their judicial duties, amid possible moves by the US to sanction judges and prosecutors involved in national security cases.

He said court decisions in the past couple of years, including split decisions at the top court, have shown that judges are highly professional, independent and faithful to the law.

"Judges must be able to decide cases and explain their decisions in judgements without interference or illegitimate pressure. This is of cardinal importance to judicial independence," he said.

"Threats of sanction or reprisal against judges for simply discharging their judicial duties are, therefore, repugnant to the rule of law and fundamentally objectionable."

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam also used his speech to hit out at possible moves by the US to sanction Hong Kong judges and prosecutors.

He described them as political manoeuvres aimed at exerting pressure on judges and judicial officers and "smearing" the National Security Law.

Lam stressed that those handling court cases here must not be interfered with.

"The judiciary discharges such constitutional duty by exercising its judicial power independently whenever national security issues are raised before the court," the minister said.

Like Cheung, Lam said defendants are being treated fairly.

"In particular, it is duty-bound to ensure that defendants charged with national security offences will receive a fair trial; and that their guilt will be determined in accordance with the relevant law and evidence only, nothing more and nothing less."

The secretary also said there is transparency in national security cases, with hearings, generally speaking, held openly, and decisions and judgements made freely accessible.

"People will have no difficulty in following the court proceedings, and studying the reasons for the court's decisions and judgements. The real problem is that many people did not bother to do so before passing their own judgements," Lam said.

"For any reasonable and objective bystander who is eager to seek the truth, he or she will not see one iota of evidence that the judiciary's independent judicial power has been compromised in cases involving national security."

Lam also said it is necessary to create links between the legal systems of Hong Kong and the mainland, to fully utilise the SAR's common law system to serve the country's overall interests, while also maintaining a clear distinction between the two.