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the top-grade (yiji falu) laws of the Hong Kong SAR to make up one legal system. However, internally, they can also be divided into various different departmental laws. Such as the criminal law, contract law, civil laws on conduct infringing on rights, litigation law,
marriage and family law as well as inheritance law, labour law and environment law and so on. These different departmental laws make up different levels within the Basic Law but they all derive from the Basic Law at the highest level. Thus from the point of view of the internal make-up of our country's legal system it will become much more complex and many layered.
B: The position of laws of the Hong Kong SAR within the Chinese legal system
The Hong Kong SAR is a local government of the PRC enjoying a high level of autonomy and directly subordinate to the Central People's Government. Therefore, the laws of the Hong Kong SAR, within the Chinese legal system, must belong to the local level. Its legal position must be analogous and similar to local laws and regulations drawn up by local government organs on the mainland. According to China's Constitution and its legal regulations, the People's Congresses and their Standing Committees at Provincial level and the People's Congresses of Municipalities which are either Provincial capitals or have the relevant approval from the State Council have the power to draw up local regulations and put them into practice after reporting them to Provincial People's Congress Standing
Standing Committees for approval. Apart from this the the People's Congresses of national autonomous areas also have the power to draw up autonomous and special regulations in accordance with the special characteristics of the nationalities, culture and economics.
politics,
However, the laws of the Hong Kong SAR have a number of significant differences from local regulations on the mainland and from autonomous regulations and specific regulations for the national autonomous areas.
There are:
i. In mainland China, so-called regulations drawn up by local state organs must be in accordance with the Constitution, laws and administrative regulations and they must not be drawn up in such a way as to conflict with the Constitution, laws or administrative regulations. However, the laws established by the legislative organs of the Hong Kong SAR and Hong Kong's original laws must be consistent with the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR and must not be in contravention of it.
ii. If a local regulation drawn up by a local state organ in China is in conflict with the Constitution, laws or administrative regulations, the Standing Committee of the NPC have the power to cancel it. But if a law drawn up by the legislative organ of the Hong Kong SAR is not in accordance with the articles in the basic law which deal with centre's managerial responsibilities and the relationship between the Central and the Hong Kong SAR Governments, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress must consult its subordinate Hong Kong SAR Basic Law committee and can then send back the relevant law but it cannot amend it. Laws sent back by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress immediately lose their force.
iii. The autonomous and other specific regulations decided upon by the People's Congresses of local autonomous areas in the exercise of their autonomy can come into force after they have submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's