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CONFIDENTIAL
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constitution of Belize, which was adopted in 1981. The latter is typical, and contains a recent and full exposition of basic rights and freedoms. For this purpose I attach a comparative table of texts and a comparative index.
6.
On a first reading of the table it appears that most, if not all, of the fundamental rights and freedoms provided in the Belize constitution are already enshrined in the Joint Declaration and the covenants. Indeed in some respects the covenants seem to contain provisions which do not feature in the Belize constitution, e.g. no death sentence for persons below eighteen years of age or for pregnant women. However, a closer study may reveal points on which the Belize constitution is fuller than the covenants.
7.
Apart from the question of how best to fulfil the requirements of paragraph 3(12) of the Joint Declaration (by inserting some provisions into the Basic Law) there is also the question whether the Basic Law is the only place in which these rights and freedoms should be entrenched, or whether that law should be reinforced by other methods.
8.
If we concluded that some additional entrenchment of basic rights was needed, whether of a complete list or only those that were found to have been omitted from the Joint Declaration and the covenants, the question of method would arise. There are at least two possibilities -
9.
(i)
(ii)
incorporation in a Hong Kong ordinance;
leaving them, uncodified, in the common law.
In order to answer the questions posed in paras 7 and 8 above it is necessary to consider the
relative merits of entrenchment in the Basic Law, a Hong Kong ordinance and the common law. Each will be considered in turn.
10. Incorporation in the Basic Law
Merits
The Basic Law will have been adopted as the result of lengthy and cumbersome procedures, and it is unlikely to be amended very often. It cannot be changed at all by the SAR Legislature. There would therefore probably be a greater degree of entrenchment (and therefore public confidence that the law will remain unchanged) than in the case of a Hong Kong ordinance.
CONFIDENTIAL