entrench
its
provisions
in the
law
of Hong Kong.
The
"entrenchment" of those provisions depends solely
on the
political will of the PRC. That will is presently exhibited
in
Part
3
of the
Basic
Law.
principally important provision of that Part is article 39. be noted? 73
The most
But it must
that article 39 does not include Part 1 of the
International Covenants in which appear article 1 promising
that:
"All
peoples self-determination.
„bave
the
right
of
Whether, following 150 years of separate history, the people
of
Hong
international
Kong
are
a
"peoples"
for
this
purpose
of
law
International
is the subject of
74 Commission of
of Jurists.
a mission by the
In the
the context
of
the great world movement of peoples, which is such a feature
of international society today, much research has been done
75
The this purpose. of "peoples" for
on the
definition of
claims of stateless peoples, such as the Kurds and
Palestinians, or peoples within an existing State, such as
the Croats, Estonians and Punjabis is a subject of much
international debate amongst scholars.76 It is a debate
which, at least in respect of Tibet and Hong Kong reaches the
peoples of China itself.
The importance of this debate for present purposes is
that all Bills of Rights must operate in a constitutional
framework which contemplates that the several rights will
contribute, in a coherent way, to a generally accepted form
of society.
Whether by express provision (as in the Canadian
case) or by implication of the constitution (as in the United
States) courts construe the detailed and precise provisions
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