of Appeal judgement, paragraph 23) Reasoning: The Court of Appeal emphasised that the case involved the expression of love and intimacy by gay men towards one another; the case was therefore ‘about the status, moral citizenship and sense of self-worth of a significant section of the community.’ The Court then ruled that the applicant had sufficient interest to initiate the case because the Court was dealing with the issue which would have great impact on ‘the dignity of a section of society in a significant way.’ Thinking along the same lines as Judge Hartmann, the Court of Appeal concluded that the 3-month time limit would be relevant but not a compelling factor in this particular case. Quoting Judge Hartmann's comments, the Court of Appeal stated, Issue 3: Had homosexual men been unconstitutionally discriminated against by some provisions within the Crimes Ordinance? Holding: Yes Argument: The Government conceded up front that Section 118F(2)(a), 118H, and 118J(2)(a) were indeed unconstitutional in ways of infringing the applicant's rights to equality and privacy; however, Section 118C should still be valid because Section 118D, similar to Section 118C, equally applied onto and prohibited heterosexuals from engaging buggery under 21. (Court of First Instance judgement, paragraph 99) Reasoning: The Court agreed and accepted the Government's concession. The Court then moved to analyse Issue 4. (Court of First Instance judgement, paragraph 99) Issue 4: Could a piece of law be determined discriminatory but appearing on the face that they have been applied equally? Holding: Yes Argument: The Government argued that buggery should not be seen or recognised in the same way as sexual intercourse; and thus, the Court should not compare Section 118C, forbidding gay men from engaging buggery under 21, with the law forbidding heterosexual couples having sex under 16. Also, the Government believed the Court should hold Section 118C valid under the Basic Law because Section 118D, similar to Section 118C, equally applied onto and prohibited heterosexuals from engaging buggery under 21: (Court of Appeal judgement, paragraph 46) Reasoning: Citing Sutherland v UK and through reading of the text of the Crimes Ordinance, buggery is recognised to be a form of sex both in common law and in the Crimes Ordinance. Furthermore, the Court explicitly stated that sex was not only for procreation but also for expressing love and intimacy; buggery, for gay men, fit well into those definitions. Therefore, the Court could compare buggery