Legal Affairs Group of Hong Kong Affairs Society Contemporary Development Co.
Publisher
Hong Kong Affairs Society
Rm. 1801-1802 Hong Kong Trade Centre. 161-167 Des Voeux Rd., Central, H. K.
Editor
Printer
Price
HK$ 5.00
First Edition 1984
All rights reserved
Tel: 5-8918888
L.
What kind of basic law is required in Hong Kong?
(1) There should be a written Basic Law.
There would be a fundamental change in the constitu- tional status of Hong Kong in 1997. To implement such a change, there should at least be two important legal documents, namely, the Sino-British Agreement and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Re- gion (HKSAR). The former would only be binding on Britain and China, and its most important objective would be the formal recognition of China's right to resume sovereignty over Hong Kong on the 1st day of July 1997.
The Basic Law of Hong Kong, on the other hand, is to be made by the National People's Congress(NPC) of China pursuant to Article 31 of the Constitution of China, and is to determine the constitutional status of Hong Kong under China's sovereignty and to consti- tute its political system. The Basic Law would also form the basis of legitimacy of the political system of HKSAR. To implement such a fundamental and import- ant constitutional change, in view of the special back- ground of Hong Kong, a written constitution is required. The making of such a written Basic Law would also reflect and underline the importance and solemnity of such a change.
(2) The Basic Law should have the highest authority in the
legal system of the HKSAR.
This proposition has two meanings:-
1