The outgoing chairman of the Bar Association, Victor Dawes, said on Monday that while protecting national security is fundamentally important and helps to ensure Hong Kong's economic development, the authorities need to exercise their powers in a proportionate manner.

In his speech at a ceremony marking the start of the Legal Year, Dawes said common law and the judicial system are pivotal to the success of Hong Kong and the constitutional order in the city.

He cited Lord Hodge, deputy president of the United Kingdom's top court, as saying that the quality of a place's legal institutions is important to investment levels, innovation and economic growth.

Dawes said there is no doubt that protecting national security is fundamentally important and essential for economic prosperity and people's well-being.

He said there continued to be unfair criticism overseas regarding security matters linked to incidents that took place in Hong Kong in 2019, and some of the criticism was aimed at undermining the SAR's prosperity.

The Bar Association chief said it's important for the authorities to exercise powers derived from national security laws in a considered and proportionate manner, to show that Hong Kong, as a jurisdiction, respects the rights of the people.

"Ministers and public officers at all levels must be able to show that their powers are exercised in good faith, fairly, and for the purpose for which the powers are conferred," he said.

"Businesses must have the confidence that they will be dealt with on a principled and not an arbitrary basis. In this regard, powers under our new national security legislation should be used in a considered and proportionate manner."

The president of the Law Society, Roden Tong, said his organisation will do its best to preserve the legal sector's self-regulatory regime, saying this is seen as an important part of the profession's independence.

"The independence of the profession will give the public confidence that it can take an objective view and effectively uphold the rule of law," he said.

"This is particularly important when our systems are under close scrutiny in the geopolitical climate, and the Law Society will strive to preserve the profession's self-regulatory status."

Tong also called on the sector to play a bigger educational role to help tackle misinformation.