The certificates concerned were given out by seven doctors accused of falsely issuing them without proper consultation. The suspect certificates will be voided on October 12.

The court’s decision came after Kwok Cheuk-kin, also commonly known as “the king of judicial reviews,” filed an application for a judicial review against Lo’s decision, noting it violated the International Bill of Human Rights.

Kwok argued that authorities have constituted a human rights violation with restrictions barring unvaccinated people from entering specific premises.

He also accused health authorities of abusing their power in quashing the exemption documents and had subjected those unfit to receive the jabs to discriminatory treatment.

“The question which arises in these proceedings is whether the impugned decision of the Secretary of Health was taken the right way, namely lawfully within his powers," High Court judge Russell Coleman said in a judgement.

The government on September 27 issued a press release to announce the relevant medical exemption certificates that the seven arrested doctors issued will not be accepted and will be invalidated from October 12 onwards.

“However, the press release does not identify any legal power under which it is suggested that such a decision might have been taken or how the deeming of invalidity might take effect,” Coleman said.

He continued that in his view "there is no power for the Secretary (of Health) to overturn or invalidate a medical exemption certificate or a selection of such medical exemption certificates, as would in effect create an exception to the exception created by section 5(2)(b),"

He added that the 20,000 certificates will remain valid until there is an outcome for the review.

The government on Tuesday announced the suspension of arrangement to refuse the acceptance of the exemption certificates concerned, until the court has conducted substantive hearing on the judicial review case and handed down further instruction.