lately by
ruments as
suggested by the
Bangalo
Declaratio
ng Kong; however, there is hope that th
departing
effective
leave régime will
frights,
based
the people with
the upon
internationa
a
covenants
is hoped
some way,
d to in article 39 of the Basic Law.
at least for fifty years, thi
I
basic
of
justiciab enforced a branches Overnment*0013:
Rights CH
the courts;
will remain
inviolable;
b
and be interpreted, declared and
judiciary independent
of the
"political
issues moment
Realpolitik to
I aside for a
Ι
which 1 eventually return.
of
If such a Bill of Rights
could incorporated and entrenched in the law of Hong Kong,
the
juciary performing its tasks in relation to it would
not do so unaided.
centuries
of ni
It would have available to it three
of judicial exposition of the United Kingdom Bill
of 1688; tw centuries of the judicial exposition of the Bill of Rights which form the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution (1790) and the more recent and possibly more relevant experience of Canada and other Commonwealth jurisdictions which belatedly embraced the bill of rights idea.
There will be others with more relevant experience to examine the rôle of the judge in expounding and applying the Canadian Charter. Interpreting basic rights, at least stated in a document like the Charter, has required common law judges to modify the narrow techniques which have, sometimes beneficially, marked the interpretation of ordinary legislation. A Charter requires judges to embrace a degree of judicial activism which even the boldest spirits of the
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